


say amen

by imnothere121



Series: pray for the wicked [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: AU, Cross-posted from FFN, Domestic Violence, Gen, It gets better I promise, Kayla Says Fuck A Lot, Percy Hates It, Swearing, Trans!Mitchell, if i get shit wrong call me out pls, kayla's a bit of an asshole, lets just pretend yj season 1 happened in 2012 mmkay???, like sooooo au, lol if you even read this, lol the difference between the prologue and first chapter is slightly stupid, lol this is a bit of a mess actually, mentions of police brutality, mitchell is the pure one lol, no beta we die like men lol, oh well, pls care about yourself and be careful reading this, puts a year between TLO and TLH, so is nico
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-06-04 20:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15155186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnothere121/pseuds/imnothere121
Summary: Thirteen year-old Kayla Evans is just trying to survive in a tough part of Manhattan. All she wants is to provide for her mom and stay away from her stepdad. But things change when she visits her old friend Percy for dinner and finds out she's a demigod. How's she supposed to keep her mom safe when she has to go toe-to-toe with Lex Luthor to retrieve her father's symbol of power? And how the hell will she get through this quest without physically fighting a certain son of Hades? Only one thing is certain:Mitchell deserves to get paid for this bullshit.





	1. this prologue brought to you by: suffering

**Author's Note:**

> tw for abuse and police brutality in this prologue please be careful if you have any ptsd in relation to that, ill try and bold the first word of the first and last sentences of a scene

Cindy Evans was born and raised in England. She had nice parents and was the youngest of three girls, but was a bit of a trouble-maker. When she was fifteen years old, her parents sent her away to live with her aunt and uncle in New York City, where she met her best friend Sally Jackson. They did everything together and were each-other’s support throughout high school. Sadly, they lost touch when Sally had to drop out half-way through senior year to take care of her sick uncle.

Sally inspired Cindy and after graduation she went on to get an associate’s degree in nursing, with a specialization in oncology. For two years she went through the motions of administering chemo to patients, celebrating with them when they went into remission, and mourning them when they passed.

Then she met him.

It was in a bar, and Cindy didn’t actually want to be there. He was a friend of a friend of the friend she had been carpooling with that week, and when he bumped into her at the bar ( _almost_ literally) she felt like something just… clicked into place. They spent the weekend in her apartment, barely leaving the bed to eat, and on Monday, when Cindy returned from her shift she found her apartment empty with only a beautiful bouquet to remember him by. Or so she thought.

When she discovered she was pregnant she was unprepared, but ecstatic. Her parents weren’t quite so enthusiastic. With the exception of her grandmother, her family disowned her. Her grandmother died on November 8, 1999, just a little over a month before the little blonde-haired bundle of joy that was Makayla Elizabeth Evans was born on December 17th.

And so Cindy went through life as a working single mom, trying to balance work, her daughter, and the bills. She moved to smaller and smaller apartments, trying to minimize her spending as much as she could. Meanwhile she had to deal with a toddler who could get out of any crib, make any mess, and somehow make her babysitter believe it was a ghost and not her. Which, granted, was fairly remarkable for a two-year-old, but very, very stressful for the woman who had to keep hiring someone new to watch her every other week. Her only comfort was that she had reconnected with her old friend Sally, who had a son only three years older than Kayla.

After two more years of pulling her hair out trying to make ends meet, whatever cosmic being that was out there answered her prayers in the form of Carson Brandt. He was one of Cindy’s patient’s son and only living relative. A relatively large man, he worked in a warehouse doing manual labor. As the months went by, Cindy and Carson grew very close very quickly and were married in two months in a small ceremony. Carson moved in with Cindy and Kayla and suddenly-

 **He** was an entirely different person.

Where at first he was kind and gentle and loving, he was now rude, rough, and brutal. Every small mistake made by either Cindy or Kayla was met with immediate verbal abuse that tore Cindy’s soul apart. Carson would sit at home drinking when he wasn’t working and if he wasn’t at home or work, he was at the bar. He made Cindy withdraw from all her friends, made her quit her job when he got a promotion, and always, _always_ , made sure that Kayla was fully aware that she wasn’t _his_ daughter. Matters only worsened when Carson’s mother died. The yelling was suddenly accompanied by a strike to whoever was closest. If Kayla misbehaved too much, he’d shove her into their tiny apartment’s linen closet and leave her there. One time, he kept her there for two days.

 **Six** years and an apartment later, Kayla had fully memorized Carson’s weekly schedule and could avoid being in the house at the same time he was. During the day, Kayla spent her time acting innocent while she stole wallets and watches from people on the streets. She was small and fast and easily managed to slip away whenever she was caught. Except one day she got caught by one of the people in her building, who offered to buy what she stole in exchange for her being a runner to some of his other clients, in an unexpected turn of events. At the end of the day, she would sit on the roof of her building and wait for Carson to leave or go to bed, which is when she would slip in through the fire escape and go to bed, usually unnoticed. For so long that was the routine. School, steal, sell, home, wait, bed.

 **Then** at twelve years old, Kayla and her friend Aidan were walking the streets slipping their hands in and out of people’s pockets like it was nothing. In a moment of boldness, Kayla attempted to pickpocket the cop on the corner, and succeeded. Only for the cop to notice after the pair had only taken a few steps. At his yell for them to stop floated to their ears, Kayla and Aidan took off through the streets. They slipped into an alleyway and Kayla started climbing up the ladder of the fire escape as fast as she could, Aidan about to jump up after her. She vaguely noticed the cop round the corner, but ignored him in favor of climbing higher. Below her, she heard Aidan yell something that didn’t make sense in that moment.  Everything happened very fast.

“Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

POP   POP    POP

A thud.

Kayla looked down and saw Aidan, on the ground, blood pooling around him and dropped down off the ladder, and rushed to his side. Faintly, Kayla knew that she was screaming, but couldn’t stop. The cop pulled her away and forced handcuffs on her wrists. In the back of her mind she could hear him reciting the Miranda Rights. Everything in between is fuzzy, but she remembers being shoved into the back of a police car, sobbing. She remembers sitting in a holding cell, her mom looking worried and disappointed; she remembers the hearing and all the rules of her probation. She remembers Aidan’s funeral and his mother and brothers crying over his casket. She remembers the news anchors talking about the black kid that was ‘mugging’ people on the streets who was shot when he ‘threatened’ the arresting officer.

 **She** remembers how angry Carson was. The scars make sure that she will never forget.

Above all, Kayla remembers what happened that day. The world is a cold cruel place. The least she can do is make it a little more fair, one wallet at a time.

**Manhattan**

**May 27, 2012**


	2. in which there is exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kayla does some things, and there's a lot of talking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for mention of alcohol, gambling, and smoking but it's really minor
> 
> umm quite a bit of swearing tho

**New York City, New York**

**May 27, 2012**

**3:32 P.M.**

**Manhattan**

“Hey, you! Get back here!”

“Fuck fuck fuck shit fucking shitting fuck fuck fuck!” Kayla pushed through the crowd on the sidewalk, for once praising her small frame. As she ran, she chanced a look behind her. The business man she had just stolen from seemed to have dropped his briefcase to run after her. Letting loose another stream of expletives Kayla pulled the hood of her blue sweatshirt down further over her face and turned her attention back in front of her to focus on putting as much distance between her and that man as possible. She spotted an alleyway and nearly lost her footing while changing course to enter it. Kayla pulled herself up onto the dumpster as fast as she could and immediately hopped up to grab the lowest rung of the ladder leading up the fortunately-placed fire escape.

By the time the business man rounded the corner, Kayla was already climbing the ladder to the roof. There was no way that poncy-ass rich boy would be able to follow her, at least not without ruining that suit of his. Nevertheless, Kayla didn’t slow down once she got to the roof and was able to jump across the gap to the roof in the direction she came from. She had to get to her building before she was actually in the clear.

* * *

 

**3:56 P.M.**

**Kayla Evans’s Apartment Building**

**Basement**

“Have I mentioned how creepy it is that you’ll only meet me in the basement when I sell to you?” Kayla asked, looking around at the collection of file cabinets Jack had put in his section of the building’s basement storage. She started digging out the wallets and watches she had stolen that day.

“Several times. Just about every time we do this actually.” Jack didn’t look up from… whatever those papers were on his ‘desk’ (which was actually just a couple of wooden crates shoved together with a bright yellow and pink eyesore of a lawn chair behind it).

“Ah. We’ll it’s super creepy that you’ll only meet me in the basement.” Kayla laid out seven wallets and four watches on the ‘desk,’ ignoring Jack’s incredulous look.

“Oh for fucks sake Kayla.” Jack sighed heavily through his nose in exasperation. Kayla only shrugged in response, going through the wallets and taking out the cash to stack the bills neatly.

“Gotta stay on brand, Jack-a-belle.” She pulled a Social Security Card out of the wallet she recognized as Suit-guy’s and snorted. “What a fucking moron, there’s a _reason_ they tell you not to carry your social around,” she said to herself.

“First of all,” Jack started, holding up one finger, “you know very well that this will be easier to keep under wraps if we meet secretly. Second, I’m a middle aged man I don’t need cutesy nicknames from a thirteen year old. Third, if someone is dumb enough to keep their social security card in their wallet, they deserve to have their identity stolen and I’m glad you understand that. Now hand it over, I know a guy who’ll take it off our hands.” He held his hand out expectantly. Kayla narrowed her eyes.

“And I’ll get a cut of that, right?” Kayla challenged. Jack rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, twenty-five percent.” He waved his hand at her again.

“Uh-uh,” Kayla said. “This asshole actually chased me; I deserve a little extra this time. Fifty.”

“Oh, for- do we have to do this every time?” Jack pinched his nose tiredly. Kayla just shrugged and smirked. “Fine, I’ll indulge you. Thirty.”

“Ha! You’re funny. Forty-eight.”

“Thirty-five.”

“Forty-five.”

“Jesus fucking- forty even and that’s as high as I go.”

“Deal,” Kayla said, her smirk widening into an actual smile as she held out the card.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Jack took the card and added it to the clutter on his ‘desk.’ “What else do you have for me, kid?” He asked, throwing himself into that disaster of a chair.

“Whelp. Like three of these wallets are real leather, all of them have credit cards and IDs in them. And I managed to snag two Rolexes, what I think is a watch made out of _actual_ gold, and this last watch I grabbed off some bitch who I heard bragging about it being,” Kayla changed her voice to a higher, nasally, mocking tone, “’inlaid with _real_ diamonds.’ I hope she had it insured or something,” Kayla continued, switching back to her normal voice.

“Not bad,” Jack said, nodding. “I taught you well.”

“Won’t argue with that.”  Kayla fiddled with the cuffs of her hoodie and perched herself on the edge of the ‘desk.’ “So how much?”

Jack stood and crossed the room to rifle through one of the cabinets. A moment later he walked back to her with an envelope in his hand. He handed to her and she opened it to a good amount of cash that she quickly counted.

“Damn.” Kayla whistled appreciatively. “How do you have this much money lying around and you and Eric still live in this shitty building?” Jack only shrugged.

“It suits our needs.” He said. “Eric thinks the place has charm, anyway.” Kayla side-eyed him.

“Whipped.”

“Shut up. You’re thirteen; you don’t get to make fun of me for loving my husband.” Jack pushed Kayla forward until she was forced to hop down from the desk and she blew a raspberry at him. “Now get out of here, I have more shit to do today than babysit you.”

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too man. I gotta go get groceries and pay rent anyway.” She put the stacks of cash from the wallets in the envelope as well and started up the stairs to the lobby of the building. “Say hi to Eric for me!”

“I will, I will.” Jack sighed again, raking a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. He sighed and sat down heavily in his lawn chair. “ _Di immortales_. This assignment is turning out to be harder than I thought.”

* * *

 

**4:50**

**The Brandt-Evans Apartment**

“Mom! I’m home! I brought groceries.” Kayla said, struggling through the door with plastic bags hanging off of her arms. “Good thing Carson left early today. If I had waited, the milk probably would’ve gone bad, it’s so hot.” Kayla kicked the door shut behind her. “Oh, and don’t worry about rent, I already took care of it.” She made her way to the small, rickety table in the kitchen and started unpacking groceries. “Mom?” She called. When no one answered, Kayla shrugged and finished putting everything away.

Kayla was sitting on the table eating an apple when Cindy walked in ten minutes later, mail in hand.

“Hey, mom. I got groceries.” Kayla said, taking another bite. Cindy swatted her on the shoulder with the mail as she walked past her to the counter.

“Get off of there, the table is for eating at, not sitting on.” Cindy said, the barest traces of her posh accent mixing with standard New Yorker. Cindy set the mail down and leaned down to grab her own apple from the fridge. “You want to explain why the landlord told me that our rent was taken care of?” Cindy raised a questioning eyebrow at Kayla, who had shifted to just leaning against the table.

“Not particularly.” Kayla shrugged. “Where were you?”

“Job hunting,” Cindy replied. “I wasn’t actually asking if you _wanted_ to tell me. I’m your mother, you _have_ to tell me.” Kayla took another bite of her apple, not looking at her mother. After swallowing, she took a deep breath.

“I paid it earlier today,” She said, feigning nonchalance.

“Oh, you did,” Cindy said, a sarcastic lilt to her voice. “And just how did my thirteen year-old daughter who doesn’t have a job pay for our two bedroom apartment in Manhattan.” It wasn’t a question. Kayla said nothing and looked away from her mother. Cindy scoffed. “I can’t believe this. You’ve barely been off of probation for a month and you’re already stealing? Seriously? Do you know what would happen to you if you got caught?” Kayla rolled her eyes.

“They’d send me to-“

“They’d send you to Juvie!” Cindy threw her arms in the air.

“Mom, it’s fine-“ Kayla started.

“It is not fine, young lady.” Cindy interrupted. “I don’t know why you do this. Do you want to get caught, do you want to go to Juvie?”

“I didn’t get caught, mom.”

“Not this time. But what about next time. What if you steal from someone who remembers you?”

“I’m good at this mom; they don’t see anything but my hair and my skin.” Kayla protested. “’Little white girl with blonde hair’ isn’t exactly much for anyone to go on.”

“That’s not the point, Kayla.”

“Then what is the point, mom?” Kayla asked, voice rising. “You don’t work, I can’t legally work, and Carson spends all his money on booze, gambling, and cigars. How else are we supposed to survive?”

Silence filled the room. Kayla looked away from her mother again. Cindy took a deep breath through her nose.

“We’ll talk about this later.” Cindy’s voice was quiet, just above a whisper, but Kayla heard it and flinched all the same. That wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. “If we don’t leave now, we’ll end up late for dinner.” Kayla tilted her head to the side, confused.

“Dinner?” She asked. “Since when do we go out to eat?”

“We’re not going _out_. Your Aunt Sally invited us over for dinner. Apparently Percy is having some friends from his summer camp over and he wanted to introduce us.” Kayla’s face broke out into a grin.

“Really? We’re eating at Aunt Sally’s tonight? Fucking rad.”

Cindy threw the first piece of mail on her little stack, an advertisement for some beach resort, at Kayla’s head.

“No unnecessary fucks.”


	3. plot plot plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof. i guess like tw for violence??? or at least tw for badly written fight scenes, lol

**Manhattan**  
  
May 27, 2012  
  
5:20 PM  
  
Jackson Residence  
  


               Percy Jackson had known Kayla Evans since he was nine years old. Percy had been at Sweet on America with his mother during her shift, when his mother’s old friend had walked in with her six year-old daughter in tow. The two children hit it off immediately and grew closer as their mothers spent more time together. Now, at sixteen, Percy considered Kayla his sister in all but blood and she was one of the most important people in his life. And now she was about to meet the rest of the important people in his life. In his apartment. Any minute now. He wasn’t nervous…

               Okay, he was nervous.

               “Perce, maybe you should sit down,” Grover said from the couch, ever the caring best friend. “That can’t actually be helping your nerves.”

               “Grover’s right,” Thalia chimed in from her upside-down position next to him. “More importantly, you’re making me dizzy.”

               “Maybe you’re just dizzy from all the blood going to your head, Thals,” Annabeth teased from an arm chair. “But they are right Seaweed Brain. All that pacing is going to make you more stressed.” She stood and Percy let himself be man-handled (woman-handled?) into the chair before Annabeth settled herself in his lap.

               “Why are you even stressed, anyway?” Grover asked. “You’ve known this girl forever, right? You’re a pretty good judge of character. I’m sure we’ll like her.”

               “Wait, question.” Thalia said, awkwardly flailing as she righted herself. There was a clang in the kitchen where Percy’s mother was cooking. “If you’ve known Kylie,”

               “Kayla,” Percy corrected.

               “Whatever.” Thalia waved her hand at him flippantly. “If you’ve known her for so long, how have none of us met her? Or heard of her?”

               “Ha! Speak for yourself,” Annabeth said, laughing. “In the past couple of months, I’ve heard so much about Kayla that if she weren’t thirteen and I didn’t completely trust Percy, I’d be worried.” Percy stared at her, horrified, before shuddering exaggeratedly.

               “Ew, ew, ew,” he said. “Even the thought of that is just- no. Ew. She’s like the little sister I never had.” Percy shuddered again as his friends (and girlfriend) laughed at his antics.

               “Whenever we were at Yancy together, sometimes Percy would spend the weekend with his mom and he’d see Kayla and when he got back he wouldn’t shut up for weeks,” Grover said.

               “Okay, cuz, what the hell,” Thalia said, fake offended. “Why am I the last to know about your non-demigod childhood bestie?”

               “Maybe because we very rarely see each other when our lives aren’t in danger?” Percy pointed out. Thalia considered that for a moment.

               “Fair enough.” Thalia shrugged. “I guess that means we should spend more time together minus the whole ‘almost dying’ thing, but I think this is the longest we’ve been in a room together without _something_ trying to kill us.”

               “Or trying to kill each other,” Percy quipped, a lopsided grin on his face. Laughter rang through the room for a moment before it was cut short by a knock at the door. Sally appeared in the entryway to the kitchen.

               “That should be them,” She said. “Percy, sweetheart, could you grab the door, please? I’m a little busy in here.”

               “Yeah, sure thing mom.” Annabeth stood to let Percy up and he heard her asking to help cook and his mom’s polite but firm, “Annabeth honey, you’re a guest, sit down.” Smile fading as he approached the door, Percy took a deep breath. _Everything’s going to be fine,_ he thought. _You’re gonna get teased a lot, but everything will be okay and they will like each other._ Percy took one last steeling breath and slapped a smile on his face, before opening the door.

               Only to suddenly have an armful of four-foot-nine delinquent.

               The fake smile he had plastered on turned real as he lifted Kayla up off the floor for a moment before setting her down again.

               “Hey, loser. Did you shrink or something? You seem even smaller than before, I didn’t think that was possible,” he teased, only to be shoved backwards.

               “Wow,” Kayla said, green eyes sparkling with mischief. “We haven’t seen each other in how long? And the first thing you say is a dig at my height? Rude.”

               “I’m rude? Have you heard yourself speak? Ever?” Percy flicked Kayla’s nose and she slapped his hand away.

               “Yeah, you are, Mr. I’m-only-gonna-greet-one-of-my-guests,” Kayla responded, a smug smirk taking over her face.

               Percy flushed and looked over Kayla’s head to see Cindy shaking her head and rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Sorry, Aunt Cindy. It’s really good to see you.” Percy shifted so he could reach around Kayla and pulled Cindy into a hug.

               “Oh, don’t worry about it Percy,” she said, only a hint of her original posh accent left. “Kayla has always been a bit of a handful, it’s probably better to focus on her.”

               “Hey! I’m right here,” Kayla said indignantly.

               “Yep, but you should be in _here._ C’mon inside, mom’s working on dinner,” Percy said stepping to the side to let them through. They stepped inside and were immediately ushered over to where everyone was sitting. “Aunt Cindy, Kayla, this is Thalia, Grover, and Annabeth.” Percy pointed to each of them as he said their names and they each waved and said hello. Kayla adopted a slightly evil-looking grin.

               “So you’re Annabeth.” At her answering nod and confused look, Kayla started giggling. “Wow, you really are as pretty as Percy said.” Percy’s eyes widened as he reached over to try and cover Kayla’s mouth, only to have her dodge and move out of the way. “Honestly, the way he talks about you, you’d think you hung the moon. Or, you know were imaginary.” At this point Kayla was moving around the furniture, avoiding all of Percy’s attempts to shut her up. Annabeth was smiling, if flushing slightly, while Grover was trying to hide his smiles and Thalia was outright guffawing. “It was always, ‘Annabeth’s so great, she’s so pretty, I love her more than life itself, I would follow her into hell if I had to.’” Kayla raised the pitch of her voice as she mocked her pseudo-brother, dodging another of Percy’s grabs at her. “And then you guys started dating, and it got ten times wor- mmph!” Kayla was cut off as Percy finally managed to grab onto her and cover her mouth.

               “Haha,” Percy said nervously. “Don’t listen to her she’s- ew!” Percy snatched his hand away and let go of Kayla who raced over to where her mother was watching the events unfold. “Did you just lick my hand?”

               “Uh, yeah,” Kayla sassed. “Maybe next time don’t put it near my mouth.”

               “Uh, well maybe next time-“

               “Alright, break it up you two.” Sally walked into the room from the kitchen, drying her hands with a towel. Kayla lit up.

               “Aunt Sally!” Kayla rushed over and wrapped her arms around the older woman’s middle.

               “Hi, Kayla. It’s good to see you sweetheart.” Kayla stepped back to let her mother hug her old friend and exchange pleasantries. Then Sally turned to the rest of her guests and said, “Dinner won’t be ready for another forty-five minutes or so. Percy, why don’t you take Kayla and the others to that little park a couple blocks away?”

               “Oof Mom, getting rid of us so quickly?” Percy slung an arm around Kayla’s shoulders and put a hand over his heart. Kayla imitated him.

               “Yeah, Aunt Sally, I thought you loved us. Now you’re just gonna throw us out in the streets?” Kayla and Percy tried very hard to make themselves look innocent, but it was completely thrown off by the shit-eating grins they were failing at hiding.

               “Oh, come on you two,” Cindy chimed in. “I’m sure you kids will have more fun getting to know each other outside. That way all the yelling won’t disturb the neighbors.”

               Sally chuckled, “Exactly. And while you kids do that, Cindy and I can get started of the bottle of wine in the fridge.”

               “Ooh, Moscato?”

               “What else?” Sally shuffled Cindy into the kitchen and turned back. “Annabeth, you have your phone, right?”

               “Yes, Mrs. Jackson.”

               “Oh, Annabeth, call me Sally. I’ll text you once dinner’s ready, now go have fun.” With that, Sally turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.

               “Classic Aunt Sally,” Kayla said. “The only person who can kick people out of her house nicely.”

* * *

 

               “Holy shit, monkey bars!” Kayla took off at a sprint, completely derailing any and all previous conversation.

               “Language!” Percy called after her. Kayla held up her middle finger as she ran. When she reached the monkey bars she jumped and pulled herself up seemingly effortlessly so that she was standing on top, balancing on one bar.

               “Uh, Perce?” Grover asked. “Is- is that safe?”

               “Oh it’s fine.” Percy shrugged and wrapped an arm around Annabeth’s waist. “She does that all the time. I think it’s because she wants to feel tall.”

               “Dude, fuck off, let me live my life.” Kayla leaned forward and placed her hand on the rung a few in front of her and kicked her legs up into a handstand.

               “Dude,” Percy mocked, “your mom doesn’t like when you curse.”

               “Good thing she’s not here then,” Kayla said, adjusting herself so that her hands were on two different rungs and she was facing everyone. “And that _you_ aren’t my mom.” Percy rolled his eyes and looked away from her.

               Only to see a hellhound lurking at the entrance of the park.

               “Oh, no. Annabeth, three o’clock,” Percy said, keeping his voice low. Annabeth discretely looked away from where Kayla was doing obliviously doing increasingly dangerous-looking stunts. “What’s the plan Wise Girl?”

               “I’d say we just go over and take care of it, but since Kayla’s here, I don’t want to put her in danger.” Annabeth had that look in her eyes that made it look like a thousand plans were flashing through her head.

               “What if we pretend to sneak away and lure it into an alleyway,” Percy suggested.

               “Too obvious. Besides, it might stay and attack Thalia.”

               “How about-“

               “Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck is that?!” Percy and Annabeth’s heads shot up to where Kayla had righted herself and was staring at the hellhound. Which, now that it had been noticed by all five teens, charged at the monkey bars. Kayla jumped off just barely before the hellhound slammed into the monkey bars  previously below her. Within the next few seconds, all weapons were out.

               “Kayla! Run!” Percy shouted. “Get back to my apartment, tell my mom that we decided to go to camp early!” Kayla shook her head violently. “Go, Kayla! Now!” Percy summoned a wave that pushed Kayla closer to the exit and turned back to the hellhound that was currently snapping at Thalia.

               Grover was knocked out with his back against a tree. Annabeth had vanished, most likely wearing her Yankees cap. Percy rushed forward, just as the hellhound sunk its teeth into Thalia’s shoulder. While it was preoccupied, Percy slashed at its side. The hound let go of Thalia to snap at him, only to cry out and thrash around in pain. A Yankees cap flew over to the side as Annabeth became visible on its back, clinging to her dagger. Percy slashed at it again, only to fall down, Riptide going flying as Annabeth was flung into his chest. The hellhound had Percy and Annabeth stuck under it, snapping at them as they tried to wiggle free. Percy’s brain was just going _oh god what if we die now because of a hellhound after everything we’ve gone through what if this is it_ when the hound abruptly howled and disintegrated above them.

               Standing where the hellhound had just been, soaked to the bone and wielding Riptide, was Kayla.


	4. in which kayla is Relatable

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, so this happened. i was waiting for class to start and got Inspired, which doesn't happen often, so here you go
> 
> tw for kayla freaking out for a good portion of this chapter

**Manhattan**  
  
May 27, 2012  
  
5:45 PM  
  


Kayla dropped the sword like it burned her. It may as well have. That thing… she just killed it. It tried to kill her, to kill Percy. Holy shit. Dimly, Kayla noticed Percy and Annabeth scrambling to stand. Annabeth ran out of sight, probably to check on Thalia. That thing bit Thalia, what if she’s dead, oh god, what even is Kayla’s life that another person is going to die on her. She felt numb, the cold of the water soaking her not helping matters. That wave… how did that happen? Percy just lifted his hand and… he expected her to leave him, why the fuck would she do that, holy shit. Kayla stood there, thoughts racing and staring at her hands when a hand landed on her shoulder. She panicked and threw a punch. Luckily Percy was fast enough to dodge.

“Oh, no, I’m so sorry!” Kayla exclaimed. “I didn’t-”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Percy interrupted. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Are you alright, are you hurt?”

“I. I’m.” Kayla stopped, not quite sure what to say. She looked at the ground and the sword was gone. “I’m not hurt.”

“Okay,” Percy nodded. “Okay, that’s a start. Talk to me, do you know what just happened?”

“That thing… it attacked us. I killed it. It bit Thalia, is she okay? Is-” Kayla was shaking as she broke off.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s gonna be fine, don’t worry about her. Thalia’s pretty tough.” Percy moved his hands to her shoulders rubbing up and down, trying to soothe her. Kayla stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, his arms falling down around her waist. “Hey, you’re okay too. You did what you had to, okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What was that thing?” Kayla mumbled into Percy’s chest. “Why did it do that? Why did it try to kill us?”

“That’s… a complicated question,” Percy didn’t answer. “Before I can explain, I need to check something, okay? Just a little test, is that okay?” Percy pulled back to look Kayla in the eye. After a moment she nodded. Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out… a pen.

“A pen?” Kayla raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “What, is there an essay portion to this test?” She sassed. Percy rolled his eyes and just uncapped it. “Okay, what the fuck!” Kayla yelled, backing away from the sword he was suddenly holding. “Why??? Do you have??? A sword???? How did the pen become a sword????”

“Yeah, that’s even more complicated than the hellhound,” Percy said. “I promise, I’ll explain everything, but we need to do this first, okay?” Kayla sighed and nodded again. “Okay. Now give me your hand.” Percy held out the hand that _didn’t_ have a sword in it.

“…You’re not gonna cut it off, right?” Kayla said, bringing her hands up to her chest.

“What? Kayla, of course I’m not! Who do you think I am?” Percy looked at her incredulously. Seeing that Kayla still looked scared, Percy sighed. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay? I’m just going to put the flat of the blade on the back of your hand. You’re not going to get hurt, I promise, but you have to trust me.” They stood there, Percy with his arm outstretched, a pregnant pause between them. Kayla took a steeling breath and held out her hand. She clenched her eyes shut and felt the cool metal of the blade press against the back of her hand, and then it was gone. She slowly opened her eyes again to see a strange expression on Percy’s face. He looked almost… angry. It was strange seeing that on his usually carefree face. Kayla blinked and the expression was gone, replaced by something else that she couldn’t quite place. Percy shook his head and turned his sword back into a pen, which. Was still confusing. “Looks like we’re leaving for Camp early,” Percy said, leaving Kayla very confused what his summer camp had to do with this situation. “We’ll be able to explain more when we get there.”

“’We?’ What do you mean ‘we?’” Kayla started. Percy didn’t answer and instead walked over to where Thalia was sitting with Annabeth and a freshly conscious Grover. She was eating some weird yellow bar, looking thing. Kayla went to follow and stopped when her shoes didn’t make the wet squishing noise they should have been. She patted herself down and lifted her hands to her hair. Dry. “What the fuuuuuck,” she whispered to herself as she walked over to the four older teens.

“- through her. She’s a demigod, we have to take her to Camp before she’s attacked again.” Percy was saying. Understanding that Kayla _didn’t_ understand passed over everyone’s faces. When Kayla’s eyes passed over Thalia, it was the last straw.

“Okay, what the fuck guys?” She said, loud and slightly angry. The other’s startled and looked at her. “What was that thing? Why do you have a sword? What was that ‘test’ bullshit? What the fuck is a demigod? And why and _how_ are _you_ ,” Kayla pointed wildly at Thalia, “fully healed? I _saw_ that- that _thing_ bite you! It looked like it was gonna rip your arm off! And now there’s only blood? How the fuck?” Kayla started breathing heavier, her voice falling down into a normal talking voice again. “This isn’t real, this can’t be real. I must have fallen off the monkey bars, and now I’m in a coma and this is all an elaborate dream. Or maybe I’m just finally going crazy. Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fu-“

“Kayla!” Percy interrupted and grabbed Kayla’s wrists to pull her hands down from where they had tangled in her hair at some point. She didn’t even realize. “Kayla, take a deep breath, okay.” She did. “Okay, good. Listen, we’ll answer all of your questions, I promise. But we can’t do that here. Well, actually, I can answer the last two. This _is_ real. You’re not crazy. Well,” Percy amended, “you are kinda crazy. But not delusional, I promise. Okay?” Kayla nodded, still breathing slightly shakily. “Okay.” Percy didn’t let go of her, but he turned to Annabeth. “Babe, can you text my mom, let her know what’s going on?” At Annabeth’s  nod, he turned back to Kayla. “I’m gonna call us a ride, okay? But you need to stay calm. She’s friendly.” Kayla’s brows furrowed, confused at the ‘she’ and why she would be scared, since it just sounded like he was gonna call a taxi.

“Umm, alright?” At Kayla’s agreement, Percy whistled loudly. And then Kayla regretted everything, because there was another of those dog-looking ass monsters standing right in front of them. “Nope.” Kayla pulled her hands away and started walking towards the entrance of the park. “Nope, nope, nope. I’m done, not doing that. Give me the address and I’ll catch a cab but no way am I- agh!” Arms wrapped around Kayla’s waist and she was suddenly being lifted and carried back to the huge animal. “Okay, this is just rude, Percy.”

“Fastest way to get there man, just deal with it.” Percy stopped in front of the dog-monster and set Kayla down again. “Don’t worry, Mrs. O’Leary’s a sweetheart. She only mauls people who deserve it.”

“The fact that she does _any_ mauling concerns me,” Kayla quipped. “Also, please tell me _you_ didn’t give her that unfortunate name.” Percy laughed.

“Nope, not me. But I think she likes it.” Percy smiled and gestured up at Mrs. O’Leary. “Whelp, time to go. Climb on up, everybody.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kayla said incredulously. He couldn’t have meant…

“Climb on. Mrs. O’Leary is taking us to Camp.” Of course he did. Kayla sighed, and Mrs. O’Leary laid down to let everyone on her back. Kayla climbed on first, cautious, then Thalia, Grover, Annabeth, and finally, Percy. “Okay, Mrs. O’Leary. Let’s go to Camp, girl.”

With that final command, Mrs. O’Leary bounded forward and Kayla’s world went dark.


	5. Camp!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhhh so i drank three cups of coffee and busted this out
> 
> oof

**Long Island**

**May 27, 2012**

**6:00 PM**

**Half-Blood Hill**

 

The darkness eventually faded and Kayla found herself on top of a hill. She was confused, but was slowly growing used to that feeling. Sliding off of Mrs. O’Leary’s back, Kayla took stock of her surroundings. To one side of the hill was the main road and to the other, she could see fields of… something. Either strawberries or raspberries, it was too far away to tell. Past that there was a large farmhouse with a wraparound porch, and even further was a large collection of buildings, a lake, and a forest. On the horizon, she could see the glittering waters of the Atlantic. For a second, she thought she could smell the salty sea air, but she knew that it was much too far for that. To her right, there was a single tall pine tree with something golden in its branches and what, at first glance, looked like cables wrapped around its base. Upon further inspection, however…

“Holy motherfucking shitballs, is that a fucking dragon?!” Kayla scrambled to put more space in between her and _it_.

“Language,” Percy said as he climbed down from Mrs. O’Leary, seemingly indifferent about the _fucking dragon_ that could definitely kill them all only a few yards away. “That’s Peleus. Don’t worry, he’s friendly.”

“Friendly?” Kayla stared at Percy, wide-eyed and incredulous. “How many deadly animals do you know that are ‘friendly?’ ‘Cause in the future, you should tell me about them before you go and give me a heart attack.”

“You’re too young for a heart attack.” Percy walked over to Kayla and slung an arm over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, everything will be explained soon enough.” With that he turned back to his friends. “Annabeth and I will take her to Chiron. You guys should head to the infirmary, get Will to give you the all clear, just in case.” Thalia rolled her eyes, but she and Grover headed down the hill together all the same. Annabeth came to stand on Kayla’s other side.

“Don’t worry, Kayla,” She said. “Chiron will tell you everything. You’re safe here.” Kayla nodded, still doubtful, and with that they started down the hill.

* * *

 

**Long Island**

**May 27, 2012**

**6:10 PM**

**Camp Half-Blood; the Big House**

Kayla knew now that you are never truly intimidated until you are brought in front of two middle-aged men in a strange camp when you have no idea what the flying fuck-a-doodle is going on. One of the two men seemed to be the older of the two. He was in a wheelchair with a blanket covering his legs. He had brown eyes that looked a thousand years old and the brown hair on top of his head and on his chin had strands of gray in it. His (admittedly funny) shirt read: 'My other car is a centaur'.

The other man looked a hell of a lot less friendly and Kayla hated him already. He distinctly reminded her of one of her step-father's drinking buddies. Except for the look on his face that reminded her of the one that had been on Carson's face the one time he tried to get sober (he failed- obviously). So he was a recovering alcoholic. But the man also had this glint of madness in his eyes, not like a man insane, but one whom could cause insanity. But he probably was insane. You know, since he looked like a leopard threw up on him and all.

"Kayla," Percy said. "This is Chiron and Mr. D." Chiron turned to the confused girl with a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eye. Mr. D just looked up and grunted.

"I suppose, I must say it." Mr. D muttered unpleasantly, scowling. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood blah, blah, blah. Don't expect me to say it again." Kayla raised her eyebrows with an expression that basically said 'well then'.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too." Kayla said. "But, if you're the welcoming committee, then you're not doing a very good job." The look Mr. D gave her showed her that she probably shouldn't have said that. Mr. D narrowed his eyes at her and gave her the same condescending look that her teachers used to give her when something would go missing in the class room and immediately turn to her. Ah, fuck it. Kayla rolled her eyes. “What’s wrong, sun a little too bright for your hangover?”

“Pah!” Mr. D stood from his seat and waved dismissively. “This one is going to be trouble. Chiron can deal with you. Perhaps he can teach you how _not_ to get incinerated.” The strange almost-threat was thrown casually over his shoulder as he retreated into the farmhouse. Behind her, Percy started guffawing.

“ _Di immortales_ , Kayla,” Percy finally managed to say. “Even _I_ took longer than that to make him angry! I can’t belie- actually, wait, I can believe it, you’ve always been like this.” Annabeth rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and lightly smacked his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t make a habit of that,” She said, eyebrows furrowing worriedly. “He _can_ actually incinerate you.”

“Has he incinerated a camper before?” Percy asked, ignoring Kayla’s alarmed and confused expression. “He threatens it a lot, but has he actually done it?”

“Not within the last hundred years or so, no.” Kayla jumped and turned back to Chiron, forgetting for a moment that the wise old man was there. “Go ahead and sit children.” Kayla waited for Annabeth and Percy to do so before she slowly copied them. “I must say, we weren’t expecting any new campers today. And you,” Chiron looked pointedly at Percy, “said you would not be here until the end of the week.”

“Plans change.” Percy shrugged.

“We were attacked by a hellhound,” Annabeth said, steering the conversation back on track. “Kayla ended up using Percy’s sword to kill it.”

“Afterwards I put the blade on her hand,” Percy chimed in. He looked at Kayla. “If you were fully mortal, it would’ve gone right through you.”

“But it didn’t,” Kayla said slowly, trying to process what ‘fully mortal’ and all it implied.

“But it didn’t,” Percy echoed. He went back to addressing Chiron. “We were afraid it wouldn’t be safe to explain everything there, so we brought her here immediately.”

“Speaking of ‘here,’” Kayla interjected before Chiron could respond. “Where are we? I mean, I know this is your summer camp and all, but what,” She struggled to find the words for a moment, gesturing a bit, “is it?”

Chiron studied Kayla for a moment, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his chin resting on top of his hands. Kayla sat a little straighter in her chair and looked over at Percy, hoping for some kind of guidance and only seeing him looking at Chiron. Finally, the older man leaned back in his wheelchair. “Percy, Annabeth, would you mind giving us a moment? I suspect this might be a little easier if there is only one person trying to answer Kayla’s questions.” They stood, albeit reluctantly in Percy’s case, and walked inside. Kayla watched them go, suddenly a lot more nervous than before. “Tell me child,” Kayla’s head snapped back around to Chiron, “what do you know about Greek mythology?”

* * *

 

By the end of Chiron’s explanation, Kayla’s head was spinning. But she also felt… like some parts of her life finally made sense. Why she always felt different from everyone she came across, why she never fit in. She was a demigod. So was Percy. Wow.

After Kayla’s talk with Chiron, Percy and Annabeth took Kayla on a tour of camp. They explained how she would be called to dinner, where she would stay until she was claimed, and that, since the Hunters of Artemis were visiting Camp, that there was going to be a special game of Capture the Flag after dinner. Kayla was in awe. And slightly afraid. She was definitely not looking forward to the day she was expected to climb the rock wall. But for all the amazing things she saw there was definitely something… not amazing. In front of her very eyes, Thalia with the brand new addition of a silver… tiara looking thing, was having some kind of face-off with a Japanese teenager who managed to make the orange camp t-shirt and blue jeans look like high fashion.

“-goth look. It’s just so… nineties,” Model-Girl was saying, picking at her nails absently. Kayla saw Thalia’s jaw clench and somehow knew that whatever happened next could be… explosive.

“Wow.” Kayla said, completely monotone. “What a burn. Truly sophisticated.” She finished her statement off with three unenthusiastic claps, and made sure she looked as bored as possible once everyone’s eyes were on her. She kept going hoping she was being annoying enough, “Or was that supposed to be a Heathers reference? You know,” Kayla slipped into a valley-girl accent, “’Grow up, Heather, bulimia is sooo ’87.’” And back again, with a little laugh, “How fitting, you actually do strike me as a Heather Chandler type.” Percy, who she made watch Heathers three months ago, snorted loudly at the comparison. Model-Girl, apparently frustrated, angry, and just not knowing what to say, turned around and marched off. Thalia laughed, seemingly in disbelief.

“Gods,” She said. “You should have come to camp ages ago. It’s not every day someone shuts up Drew Tanaka.” Thalia walked over to Kayla and patted her shoulder. “Nice work.”

“Thanks,” Kayla shrugged. “By the way, who was that? Or should I just call her Heather from now on.” Percy and Thalia chuckled while Annabeth shook her head.

“I don’t know, maybe Regina would work a bit better,” Percy joked, sending Kayla into a bout of giggles. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Maybe you _shouldn’t_ make enemies with Drew,” She said, ever the voice of reason. “She’s the counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, and she has the very rare ability to charmspeak.”

“Charmspeak?” Kayla asked, head tilting to the side.

“Very Jedi mind trick,” Percy said, lopsided grin on his face. “Annabeth’s right, as always. You probably shouldn’t antagonize her too much.”

“But man, was that fun to watch!” Thalia was laughing again. “From now on, whenever I’m in Camp, you’re coming with me everywhere I go so she doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Annabeth said. “Dinner is starting soon, so let’s get Kayla to the Hermes Cabin.”

“Oh, yes,” Thalia said. “Can’t wait to beat you guys in Capture the Flag again.”

“Don’t get too cocky.” Percy said. “Tonight is the night we finally beat you guys.”

* * *

 

**Long Island**

**May 27, 2012**

**9:30 PM**

**Camp Half-Blood; Campfire**

 

The Hunters won. But it apparently took a lot longer than it had in years past so… people were considering it a win? Kind of? At any rate, everyone seemed like they were enjoying themselves at the sing-a-long. Kayla had eaten probably ten s’mores. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so full. Eventually, Chiron (who was _that_ Chiron, and a centaur) stood to call an end to the festivities.

“Alright, settle down everyone,” He said stomping his hooves. “Another thrilling game of Capture the Flag over, and our friends the Hunters of Artemis will be gone come morning.” A faint, singular ‘whoop’ came from someone in the back, and everyone laughed, though a few of the hunters didn’t look very happy. “That’s enough of that,” Chiron said good-naturedly. “We also have a newcomer today. Ms. Evans if you would please stand.” Kayla started and didn’t move for a second, and then Percy was nudging her out of her seat. She stood and moved to stand next to Chiron. “This is Kayla Evans, she is not yet claimed and will be staying in the Hermes-“ Gasps rang out around the campers. Percy looked as if he had been slapped and was staring at… no not at, above her. Slowly, Kayla looked up, afraid of what she might see. Her breath whooshed out of her in surprise. Above her head, was a trident in the same green of hers and Percy’s eyes. Percy… who was her brother. Half-brother. Holy shit.

Next to her, Chiron backed away from her and kneeled, prompting everyone watching to do the same.

“All hail Kayla Evans, daughter of Poseidon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... these chapters look a lot longer while im typing them


	6. Breakfast, and Training, and Weird Fucking Emo Demigods, Oh My!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> theres a point where Kayla like.,. spirals for a bit? i bolded the first word of her paragraph long freak-out
> 
> sooo tw for a bit of existential crisis
> 
> also, siblings being siblings

**Long Island**

**May 28, 2012**

**8:00 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood**

 

The next morning was… not as awkward as Kayla thought it would be. She thought it would be kinda weird considering that Percy barely talked to her, only lent her a t-shirt and sweatpants he had in the cabin and point her to the bathroom, before they went to bed. But it was understandable. Kayla was weirded out too, and Percy had thought he was an only child for so long… it was to be expected. But the next morning it seemed like everything was okay. You know, judging by the fact that Kayla was woken up by Percy jumping on her bed, screaming like a crazy person about how they were going to be late for breakfast. There wasn’t enough time to dwell on that though, because then Kayla was being dragged out of bed (still in the oversized t-shirt and giant sweatpants Percy had given her for pajamas) to the dining pavilion.

What a beautiful way to start the day.

She did get a few looks, but couldn’t tell if it was because of the fact that Percy was dragging her around, that she was wearing pajamas, or if it was because of her godly parent. Oh, well what does it matter really? The answer is that it didn’t because nothing mattered until Kayla got some coffee. Preferably with a metric fuck-ton of sugar and creamer. Luckily she did get that coffee as well as some orange slices and two pieces of toast and it was _delicious_. Once she was fully awake Kayla delivered a swift kick to her brother’s shin. Percy laughed and shook his head.

“I should probably tell you something.” Kayla raised her eyebrows. “I bathed in the Styx last summer. I’m invincible now, so that means you can’t beat me up like you used to.” Percy stuck his tongue out at Kayla gloatingly.

“Actually,” Kayla started. “I can still beat you up.” She smirked. “You just won’t get hurt.” Percy snorted and flicked Kayla on the nose.

“Jerk.”

“Wow, that’s rude.”

“What are you gonna do about it? You’re like, three feet tall.”

“Four foot nine and a quarter, but nice try.” They would’ve continued like that if Annabeth hadn’t walked over to the table.

“Have a little trouble waking up this morning Kayla?” She asked. Kayla rolled her eyes.

“Nah, this asshole decided to drag me out of the cabin before I could get dressed.” Kayla picked up an orange slice from her plate and threw it at Percy, who caught it in his mouth.

“Lanwash.” Kayla wrinkled her nose.

“Gross, dude, don’t talk with your mouth full.” She said. Annabeth nodded.

“I second that motion,” Annabeth said. She put a hand on Kayla’s shoulder. “You almost done?”  Kayla nodded and started on her second piece of toast. Annabeth smiled. “Good. When you get done, you can get dressed and I can take you to pick out a more permanent weapon than the sword you borrowed yesterday for Capture the Flag.” Kayla nodded again and started eating a little faster. The whole needing weapons thing was still kind of strange, but Kayla couldn’t keep herself from being excited. The sword she had used had been unbalanced and heavy and just felt… _weird_ in her hands. The prospect of finding something that would fit her and feel _right_ made her giddy with excitement.

“Hey!” Percy protested. “Why do I get told to stay in my lane when I tell you to do something, but when Annabeth does it you just nod and go along with it?!”

“Because,” Kayla stuck her tongue out at him. “I like her better. Deal with it.”

“Rude.”

“You should be used to it by now.”

“Hey, you weren’t like this when you were six.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been like this since I was ten, so still three years.”

“I reject that. The rudeness started when you were put on probation.”

“Pineapple.” Annabeth had been listening amusedly to their bickering and was… pretty confused about the random word. However Kayla and Percy just continued their conversation.

“Sorry. Anyway, I should help you pick out your weapons seeing as I _am_ your awesome older brother.”

“Awesome? Since when?”

“Since forever. You wouldn’t know that, though, ‘cause you’re lame.”

“Your face is lame.”

“Your eyes are lame.”

“We have the same eyes, Oh Intelligent One.” Percy paused.

“Hm.” He mock glared at Kayla for a moment. “You win this round, little sister.” Kayla dramatically flipped her hair.

“I win all the rounds.” Deciding not to ask about the ‘pineapple’ thing, Annabeth chuckled and rolled her eyes.

“On that note, I think you two dorks are done eating.” Annabeth smiled at the siblings’ protest at being called dorks and started walking towards the Poseidon cabin. Having Kayla around was certainly proving to be interesting.

* * *

 

“Holy shit.”

“Language.”

“Oh for the love of-“

“Hey.” Annabeth cut in. “We’re here to get Kayla a weapon, not argue about her cursing.” The two children of Poseidon quickly shut up and Kayla returned to her assessment of the weapons shed. It was… impressive was a bit of an understatement. Weapons decorated every wall and were strewn across every table. There was barely even free space to walk because of the weapon racks all over the room. Kayla could see just about every weapon imaginable; swords, daggers, guns, you name it and it was there. At the same time, it was frightening seeing all these weapons. Kayla’s eyes caught on a gun to the side. _That looks like the same model that…_ Kayla shook the memory from her head and looked back to Annabeth. Who… seemed to be waiting on her. “Well? Aren’t you going to try some out?”

“Oh,” Kayla suddenly realized what she was waiting on. “Uh, yeah, right. Trying out weapons.” She pursed her lips. “Um… I don’t really know what to...” She trailed off. Percy smiled at her good-naturedly and put his hand on her shoulder.

“Walk around, pick some stuff up, take a couple of swings. Try to find something that’s just right for you.” Percy nudged her forward. “Go on.”

 Kayla nodded and took a few hesitant steps. Her eyes scanned the room, not really looking for anything in particular, just waiting for something to pop out. At one point she picked up a wicked looking sword and was almost pulled to the ground by the weight of it. She may have been strong for someone her size, but she wasn’t that strong. After picking up a few more swords with more or less the same results, she just moved on. Which is when she saw a pair of daggers. They were beautiful, the celestial bronze blades looking new and unused. The hilts were carved with swirling designs that reminded Kayla of waves crashing against the shore. She reached out with one hand slowly and ran her fingers gingerly across the hilt. She hesitated before taking them into her hands, feeling as if she were in some kind of trance. She gave a few experimental slashes and something just… clicked. It felt right and good, unlike anything she’d tried previously. Kayla slowly turned around to face Percy and Annabeth and smiled, slightly in awe. Percy gave a fake sniffle and pretended to wipe his eyes.

“My little sister, choosing her first weapon,” he said. “They grow up so fast.” Another pretend sniffle. Annabeth rolled her eyes and smacked Percy lightly on the arm. “Okay, okay, fine,” he said, throwing up his hands. “I’ll stop making stupid jokes. But this is still a pretty significant milestone for Kayla.” He looked Kayla’s weapon choice over again and nodded. “Daggers, huh? I’m more of a sword guy but this’ll suit your stature more. Grab their scabbards and we can head to the arena to start your training.” Kayla nodded and quickly snatched up the objects in question and started on her way to the arena. Annabeth moved to follow, but Percy stopped her before she could. Annabeth looked to him with furrowed eyebrows. “I can see the wheels in your head turning,” he started, “we have about a minute before Kayla pretends she just noticed that we’re not following her and tells us to hurry. What’s up?”

“Nothing major,” Annabeth said. “Just wondering why Kayla randomly said pineapple while you were talking.” Percy nodded with a soft ‘ah’.

“Yeah, um,” he said, “you’re going to laugh at me but Kayla and I kind of made a…” Percy trailed off, and then sighed. “Code. We have a secret code.”

“Wow, you nerds.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He sighed and shook his head. “I’m never going to live this down. Anyway, if we’re talking and one of us says ‘pineapple’ whatever subject we were talking about immediately gets dropped, no questions asked. Earlier I kind of hit a sore spot so…” He trailed off again and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“HEY, LOVEBIRDS!” The pair in question’s heads whipped around to look over at Kayla. “PICK UP THE PACE, LET’S GO!” Percy laughed, turning around and shrugging at Annabeth.

“Looks like our minute is up.” He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “Maybe you should walk slower, instead of yelling at us!”

“But this is so much more fun!” Kayla shouted back.

“Just wait for a minute!” Percy ignored Kayla’s shout of ‘You’ve had one already!’ and turned back to his girlfriend. “You think you could help me train her?”

Annabeth shook her head, “I would, but I have to get my cabin to Arts & Crafts. Tell me how it goes later?” Percy nodded and kissed Annabeth on the cheek before she started walking towards the Athena cabin.

“Hey, loverboy!” Percy looked back to a clearly impatient Kayla. “I’ll race you to the arena!” She yelled and then ran off.

“Hey, no fair!”

* * *

 

**Long Island**

**May 28, 2012**

**2:30 PM**

**Camp Half-Blood**

Despite Percy’s claim that he was a ‘sword guy’, he was actually pretty good with daggers. At least, he was good enough to knock Kayla on her ass. Repeatedly. Kayla had figured that Percy wouldn’t go easy on her but for _fuck’s sake_. They hadn’t even been training for very long and Kayla already felt like her bruises had bruises. Kayla picked herself up off the ground ( _again_ ) and took up a fighting stance ( _again_ ). She and Percy circled each other ( _again_ ) and Kayla darted forward, feinted right and attempted to slip behind him and hit him in the back with the hilt of one of her daggers, only for Percy to trip her and knock Kayla on her ass ( _a-fucking-gain_ ). This time Kayla just groaned and lay there for a second with her eyes closed.

“You okay there, little sister?” Kayla felt Percy’s foot nudging her side and could practically hear his smirk. Kayla groaned again. Percy laughed and nudged her again. “It probably is about time for us to take a break, but you’ll need to get up first.” Kayla reluctantly opened her eyes and reached for Percy’s outstretched hand, letting her brother pull her a standing position. “You good?”

Kayla slid her daggers into their sheaths on her back and rolled her head from side to side, wincing when what felt like every vertebra in her neck let out a loud ‘crack’. “I think you bruised my everything.” Percy chuckled and gently laid his hand on her shoulder.

“ _I_ think you’re gonna be fine.” He turned around and started walking towards a large water cooler with a spout. “Come get some water, you’ll feel a lot better.” Kayla followed muttering under her breath and rubbing a particularly nasty bruise on her forearm. “You know, you’re actually doing pretty good,” he said, before putting his head under the spout and letting water pour onto his head.

Kayla scoffed. “I wouldn’t call getting knocked on my ass ‘pretty good’.” Kayla furrowed her brows for a moment. “Also, it’s ‘well’.” Percy pulled his head out from under the spout and shook his hair out like a dog. “Did you even get any water in your mouth?” Percy reached over and tugged on the ponytail Kayla had thrown her hair into when they had started training before responding.

“First of all,” he started, “grammar doesn’t matter during training.” Kayla kind of wanted to point out that they weren’t technically training at the moment, but figured that that _might_ just get him to not allow any breaks. “Second of all, yes I did actually get water in my mouth. And third,” Percy grabbed her shoulders and leaned down so that he could look her in the eye. “Just because you failed a bit-” Kayla raised an eyebrow. “Okay, fine, a lot. Just because you failed a lot doesn’t mean you did terribly. It just means you’re learning. You could’ve done a lot worse. At least you knew not to block with your hand.” This time Kayla raised both her eyebrows. “I’ll tell you that story later. Now,” Percy gave her a slight push towards the cooler. “Do what I just did. Trust me, it’ll help.” Kayla looked at Percy somewhat incredulously for another moment before shrugging and doing what she was told.

Surprisingly enough, when she lifted her head back up, she felt as if the aches and bruises that she had been complaining about only a minute before had never even been there in the first place. She wasn’t even half as tired as she had been earlier. She turned back to Percy, who looked at her expectantly.

“So…” Kayla started. “Magic water?” Percy let out a loud laugh. And continued to laugh. Soon enough, he was nearly in tears, clutching his stomach, and barely making any actual noise while Kayla looked on, unimpressed. “Yes, we get it, it’s all very funny, can you explain what that stuff _actually_ is?” Percy managed to take a few deep breaths and calm down straightened back up, wiping tears from his eyes.

“‘Magic water’, that’s hilarious.” Percy stepped to the side to dodge Kayla’s attempt to punch him in the arm. “It’s just regular water. The whole ‘instantly refreshed’ thing is just part of being a child of Poseidon. Pretty useful, right?”

 **“Right.”** Kayla said, somewhat dazed by the new information. “Forgot for a second that we’re basically meta-humans.” Then she stopped a sudden thought occurring to her. “Wait, are metas just demigods? Is the Justice League just a group of demigods and aliens? Are _we_ aliens? Holy shit. What the fuck even.” Percy was back to laughing at his sister as she began to overthink just about everything. “Why the fuck are you laughing at me?! I think I’m having an existential crisis or something!” Percy continued laughing. “Percy, come on, I need answers!” She pleaded. Percy gave a few last chuckles and shook his head.

“Alright, alright. Jeez you’ve just been a riot today.” He took another deep breath and began, “Firstly, watch your language.” Kayla looked at him flatly and gestured for him to get on with it. “Secondly, as far as I know, the only people in the Justice League who knows about the existence of demigods are Wonder Woman, y’know, cause she’s an Amazonian princess and all, and Aquaman, because he’s Atlantean. Plus his protégé. Maybe they told the rest of the Justice League, maybe they didn’t, but either way, as long as they don’t think we’re a threat, we’re cool with that. Not exactly sure the gods share that sentiment but whatever.” He shrugged before continuing. “And thirdly, of course we’re not aliens, Kayla. How did you even get to that point? I mean, really?” This time Kayla shrugged.

“I overthink things sometimes.”

“I can tell.”

“Hey, it’s better than not thinking, like _some_ people.”

“Wow, rude!”

Suddenly, Kayla jumped as shadows flew past her and into a corner on the other side of the arena. A boy dressed in all black and wearing a bomber jacket stepped out of the shadows. His dark hair was shaggy and fell just past his ears and he had a gaunt look to him, like he hadn’t been eating or sleeping as much as he should be. A wickedly sharp blade, dark as obsidian, was at his left hip, held there with what looked like a silver chain. He seemed to be around Kayla’s age and was maybe five inches taller than her. As he stepped farther into the arena, the shadows receded back to their original places. The boy didn’t seem to notice them until Percy waved and called out to him.

“Nico!” He shouted, and Kayla flinched at the loudness of it. “It’s been a while, cuz, how have you been? Come over here, I’ve got someone for you to meet!” This time, Kayla flinched because Percy clapped a heavy hand onto her shoulder. The boy, Nico, seemed to hesitate a moment, letting his near-black eyes shift between Percy and Kayla before warily closing the six yards of distance between them. Thankfully, Percy waited until Nico was right in front of them and spoke at a regular volume when he continued. “Kayla, this is our cousin Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. Nico, this is Kayla Evans. I’ve known her since she was six, and it turns out she’s my half-sister.” Nico’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly in surprise before he caught himself and schooled his facial expression into something more restrained.

“That’s… an amazing coincidence.” He said in a quiet voice that was slightly raspy, like he hadn’t talked in a while. He looked Kayla up and down, sizing her up like he was trying to find out if she was really powerful enough to be a daughter of Poseidon. Kayla shifted, uncomfortable under the scrutiny, and fumbled for something to say.

“Yeah, it, uh, it really is.” Kayla said, stunned. “So, uh, how the fuck did you… do… that???” She waved her hand vaguely in the direction of the corner where Nico had appeared.

“It’s called Shadow Travel.” He said, still quiet, like he wasn’t quite comfortable. “Children of Hades can use shadows to go from one place to another.”

“Hellhounds, too.” Percy interjected. “Remember how we came here on Mrs. O’Leary?” Kayla nodded. “That was shadow travel.” Kayla nodded again.

“Huh.” Percy snorted at Kayla’s response.

“Eloquent.”

“Oh, is that your big word for the day?”

“Oh, is that your rude comment for the day.”

“Percy, you know me better than that,” Kayla grinned. “I have way more than just one.” Kayla looked over at where Nico… _had_ been standing? She frowned, and looked around to see him already almost at the entrance to the arena. Percy’s eyebrows furrowed and his head tilted to the side, like a confused kitten.

“Hey, Nico!” He called. “Where are you going? We should catch up some more!” Nico paused for a moment.

“I’m here on business for my father.” He responded, barely even looking over his shoulder. “I shouldn’t keep him waiting.” With that he walked out without another word, leaving Kayla and Percy staring at his back.


	7. mr sandman... bring me a time jump coupled with an unpleasant nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now plot happens lol

**Long Island**

**July 10, 2012**

**2:30 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood**

After her… strange, somewhat awkward first meeting with Nico di Angelo, not much else of consequence happened in Kayla’s life. Percy kept kicking her ass in training- although she almost had him once, before he cheated by tickling her. She started to learn Ancient Greek, which she was surprisingly good at. She also managed to find friends around camp besides the people she met through Percy. Travis and Connor Stoll were particularly fun, especially when they taught her not only steal from the camp store without getting caught but also gave her some handy little tips on how to keep her kleptomania in check in her day-to-day. After her first, less than stellar encounter with the head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, Kayla was surprised to hit it off with Mitchell and Lacy, two timid children of Aphrodite who were grateful to Kayla for at least trying to put Drew in her place (sadly it didn’t work all that well; all it did was make sure that the Aphrodite cabin always played against the Poseidon cabin in capture the flag). When she wasn’t training with Percy, attending activities or lessons, or hanging out with her newfound friends, Kayla would swim into the ocean and sit on the ocean floor swimming and listening to the thoughts of the fish around her.

It didn’t stay that way, unfortunately. Over the course of the summer the ocean became rougher and rougher to the point that Chiron told even Percy and Kayla not to swim in it. All the while Kayla had strange dreams. They usually began with her waking up in a lab of some sort, vision and hearing fuzzy. Then, all at once, everything would snap into focus except for one thing. Scientists surrounded it, poking and prodding and writing down their observations before going back to poking and prodding. When Kayla would look around the strange laboratory, the only other inhabitants would always be monsters of every kind with strange collars around their necks. Every time the dream would fade out slowly with Kayla listening to the scientists talk about something overly complicated and technical that she could never make heads or tails of.

Then, that changed.

Kayla’s dream started the same as usual, but once it got to the point where the scientists’ voices would start to fade out, instead of Kayla waking up confused and not knowing what to make of it, a bald man wearing a suit with a familiar face that she couldn’t place burst into the room in a whirlwind with a tough looking woman behind him. The scientists immediately stood up straighter and tried to organise their papers around the still blurry mystery object. The familiar man’s face didn’t show any anger but his posture was stiff and tense, as if he was trying to keep himself from attacking the scientists.

“You’ve had your time.” The man’s voice was smooth, but cold, and Kayla found herself worried for the scientists. “What are your findings?”

One scientist took off her glasses and nervously cleaned them on her pristine white lab coat. “We-well, the… the, uh…” The scientist put her glasses back on and cleared her throat. “Well it has the same properties as some Atlantean tech, which is actually unsurprising considering its origin…” The scientist cleared her throat again and shifted from side to side. “It should be a magnificent power source but…” She fidgeted with her glasses again. “There seems to be some kind of… block on it, preventing us from using it to its full power.” The bald man frowned.

“Will it still be powerful enough for our purposes?” The man’s voice took on a dangerous edge. Kayla watched as the scientist gulped and started unbuttoning and redoing  button on her coat.

“Y-y-yes, sir. It will, I promise.” The man nodded and turned from her walking towards the door with, presumably, his bodyguard in tow.

“Good. We will start testing the machine tomorrow.” He said over his shoulder. “And Doctor?” He paused in the door.

“Yes, sir?” The scientist responded.

“If this doesn’t work…” He trailed off before adding an aloof. “Well, I’m sure you can imagine the consequences.” He left the lab, the door closing quietly behind him. After a moment, the scientist collapsed into her chair and put her head in her hands. Minutes passed and she finally looked up at the blurry object.

“My life depends on something that shouldn’t exist.” She said with a short, slightly hysterical laugh that turned into a sob. “Oh, god.” She breathed and the dream finally began to fade out, but not before Kayla finally got a look at the now un-blurred object the scientists had been studying.

When Kayla woke up, she sat for a moment shell-shocked. As the haze of sleep faded she was able to recognize the bald man. Lex Luthor. _Holy shit._ Then Kayla frantically clambered out of bed to wake up Percy. She was so stupid! They all were. The seas should never have gotten that rough, how on earth could they have just ignored this?!

She didn’t explain it to Percy when she woke him up. She didn’t explain it to Annabeth when Kayla woke her up. She didn’t explain until after Chiron had woken up and answered Kayla’s pounding on the Big House door. It was too important to be explained three times. It was too important to wait until the sun rose. Maybe it was just a dream, but they couldn’t take that risk.

Because on that table, in that lab filled with collared monsters, being studied by scientists, was a trident.

Her father’s Trident.


	8. quest prep ft kayla being ready to throw hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhhh, just fyi i headcanon mitchell as trans. if you dont like that kindly fuck off :)

**Long Island**

**July 10, 2012**

**3:30 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood; the Big House**

It was clear to Kayla that Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron weren’t entirely happy with her waking them up at ass o’clock in the morning, but as she explained the events of her dream, their dispositions changed from ‘tired and annoyed’ to ‘tired and worried’. When Kayla reached the end of her dream she lowered her hands from where they were wildly gesticulating and into her lap, looking expectedly at Chiron. After a few beats of just watching the old centaur think, Kayla turned to look at Percy and Annabeth, only to find them doing the same thing. Two minutes passed before Kayla got fed up.

“Well!?!” Kayla exclaimed. “Am I crazy or not? ‘Cause if that actually happened… well, everyone knows that Lex Luthor is a supervillain. Just because they can’t get charges to stick doesn’t make him a better person, it just means that whatever he’s planning with dad’s trident is going to be worse.”

“You said there were monsters in cages?” Chiron asked.

“Yeah,” Kayla said. “Plus… shock collars. At least, I think that’s what they were. Sure looked like it.”

“That doesn’t make sense... “ Percy chimed in. “What use could they have for monsters? Or dad’s trident? They’re mortal, what do they have to gain here?”

“Power,” Annabeth said. “It’s _Lex Luthor_. If anyone’s power hungry it’s him, and if his scientists _do_ manage to unlock the trident’s full power then he’d be a force to be reckoned with.”

“Except they haven’t,” Kayla said. “At least- not yet. They’re missing something.”

“They’re missing a person with Poseidon’s blood.” Chiron said. Percy and Kayla shared a look before looking back at Chiron with Annabeth.

“What do you mean?” Percy asked. “Why would they need our blood?”

“Think of it as,” Chiron thought for a moment, “a failsafe, of sorts. After Zeus’s lightning bolt was stolen, some of the gods took precautions in case _their_ weapons were stolen. Poseidon made it so that only someone with his blood could use the trident’s full power.”

“But they won’t be able to find out that that is the key to unlocking it.” Annabeth said. “Our concern should be why and how Luthor has the trident. Other than power, what use could he have for the trident and those monsters?”

“There’s no way for us to find out from here.” Chiron said. Percy looked at the old centaur with an unusually stormy look on his face.

“You’re suggesting a quest.” He stated, clearly disapproving. “Which would be rightfully Kayla’s since it was her dream.” He side-eyed Kayla for a moment before returning his full attention to Chiron. “No. She hasn’t had enough training, she’d get herself killed.”

“Now wait just a minute-” Kayla attempted to interject. Chiron beat her to the punch.

“You had less training and you were younger than she is now when you went on your first quest.” Chiron said. Percy looked away, staring down at his feet with way too much interest. “You may want to protect her, but she has to learn to fight monsters out in the real world.”

“I appreciate what you’re doing Chiron, I really do, but I’m right here.” Kayla said, tired of not having input on something that has everything to do with her. She turned her entire body towards Percy and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not helpless. You know that.” Percy took a deep breath and looked up at his sister.

“Doesn’t mean I want you going on a quest that where you could _die_.” He said. “You said it yourself. He’s a supervillain. Three demigods may not be enough. It’s going to be dangerous.” Kayla could accept that he had a point but an idea started forming in her head.

“You’re right. He is a supervillain.” She started, a small smile spreading into a lopsided grin on her face. “But there’s a whole group of people dedicated to stopping supervillains. If we can convince the Justice League to help us with this, which shouldn’t be hard since, y’know it’s Lex Luthor, we can take care of it easy peasy and get dad’s trident back!” Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron all shared a look.

“That could actually work…” Annabeth started. “But how are you planning on contacting the Justice League?”

“The Hall of Justice, maybe?” Kayla suggested. “That would be the best bet, or at least a good starting point.”

“But that’s in Washington D.C.” Percy pointed out. “How are you going to get there?”

“A bus, maybe? Or a train?” Kayla said, slowly losing confidence.

“Or shadow travel.” Everyone in the room jumped about a foot in the air and turned to where none other than Nico di Angelo was standing, and had been for who-knows-how-long.

“What the fuck man?”  Kayla asked, ignoring Percy’s muttered ‘language’. “How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.” He responded.

“That doesn’t fucking answer the question.” Kayla pointed out, annoyed. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know what’s going on and that all you have is a plan that’s barely even half-baked.” Nico snarked.

“Dude its fucking ass o’clock in the morning, how were you even in a position to know there was something to eavesdrop _on_?” This time Percy nudged her with his knee.

“Language.” Kayla waved him off, which Percy rolled his eyes at before continuing. “What were you saying about shadow travel, Nico?”

“It’s faster and more efficient than a bus _or_ train.” Nico said, which was true. Kayla remembered it from when she was brought to camp by Mrs. O’Leary. “I could go with her on the quest and take her to the Hall of Justice. Which could also solve the inexperience problem. If I go with her I can look out for her for you.” Kayla had no idea when they had decided that Percy wasn’t going with her, but she supposed that it made sense. Percy was one of, if not _the_ , most powerful demigods alive. Him being outside of Camp may not be all that safe. Besides, with his luck, she’d probably end up on a most wanted list. But Kayla still wasn’t happy with the lack of you know, actually addressing her. Percy, who had been nodding along to Nico’s suggestions seemed to pick up on that.

“It sounds like a good plan, but this is Kayla’s quest.” He said. “It’s her call. Kayla?” As much as Kayla wanted to say ‘fuck no’ out of spite, she knew that this was probably the best chance she had of getting to Washington D.C. quickly and getting the Justice League’s help.

“I’m alright with it, but won’t taking three people all the way to D.C. be, I don’t know, draining?” Kayla asked. Nico only shrugged.

“If it was a longer distance, it would be a huge problem but as long as we have ambrosia and nectar on hand and I can find a place to take a power nap, I should be fine.” Nico said. Kayla nodded.

“Then I think I have our third person.” Kayla said. “Anything else for me to do before I pack, Chiron?” He seemed to consider the question for a moment.

“Considering your enemy is mortal, and you’re seeking the help of mortals, I don’t believe a prophecy is necessary.” He said. “Go. Find the last member of your party. I will meet the three of you on Half-Blood Hill, next to the tree at sunrise.” Kayla nodded and with that, she stood and walked out of the Big House, towards the Aphrodite cabin.

* * *

 

**Long Island**

**July 10, 2012**

**3:50 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood**

The first thing Kayla learned about leading a quest was how to tune out her shitrooster of a cousin and his complaining.

“He’s a son of Aphrodite.” Nico said for what seemed to be the seventh time since they left the Big House.

“You keep saying that, but I don’t quite get why that means he can’t come with us.” Kayla replied. She could practically feel Nico rolling his eyes.

“All Aphrodite’s children care about is looking nice and whether or not they’ll have a date on Friday.” Nico said. This time it was Kayla’s turn to roll her eyes. “They’re all useless in a fight, you saw for yourself how they ‘play’ Capture the Flag.” Kayla scoffed and stopped walking to turn around and actually face Nico.

“Have you ever trained with Mitchell?” Kayla asked, crossing her arms. Nico opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. “Rhetorical question. I know you haven’t.” Nico narrowed his eyes into a glare, but Kayla refused to let him intimidate her. Mitchell had been a good friend and she wasn’t about to let Nico think he could say whatever he wanted about him. “If you had, I wouldn’t be here wondering if someone switched out your mouth for your asshole with how much stupid shit you’re spewing.” Nico briefly recoiled either from shock or offense, but Kayla didn’t exactly care at the moment. “He is more than capable of having my back in a fight. I know that because I’ve trained with him.” Then a thought popped into Kayla’s head. Percy had told her about Nico actually being from the 30’s but… well she had to make sure. “Wait…” She said suspiciously. “Is this actually about him being ‘incapable’ because he’s a son of Aphrodite or because he’s trans?” Nico’s eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. Kayla felt anger begin to build in her chest. _How dare he._ “Well buddy, have I got a newsflash for you. Mitchell is more than capable of-” Nico cut her off as her voice started an uncontrolled crescendo.

“It’s not that!” Nico said holding his hands out in front of him in what was probably supposed to be a placating gesture but came off more in a ‘don’t-shoot-me’ way. He seemed a bit panicked, which was a better than his ‘cool-as-a-cucumber-nothing-effects-me’ expression he had going for him before. “I- I didn’t even know that until now. And that’s not why, it’s the son of Aphrodite thing.” Kayla rolled her eyes.

 “Well, while that’s better than the alternative, it’s still stupid.” She said, slightly relieved. “And he’s coming with us.” Nico opened his mouth to argue again. “End of discussion!” She snapped. Nico closed his mouth and, albeit reluctantly, dropped the subject. Kayla turned around and continued walking.

When they approached the Aphrodite cabin a few minutes later, Kayla immediately started banging on the door. Amidst the groans and “go away’s” she heard from outside, Kayla could also hear footsteps approaching the door. She backed away just as the door was violently swung open by a very angry Drew Tanaka. Unfortunately, she still managed to look like a model, even with her face covered in a green face mask that would’ve made anyone else look like an alien.

“Drew!” Kayla exclaimed cheerfully, undeterred by the vicious glare that was suddenly focused entirely on her. “Always lovely to see you. Is Mitchell in? I need to borrow him for a moment.” Kayla smiled as if it wasn’t four o’clock in the morning and watched as Drew let out a dramatic, angry sigh and turned around to stalk towards one of the bunks.

“Mitchell! Deal with her so we can go back to sleep.” Drew shouted, and Mitchell slowly extracted himself  from his bed and walked towards the door, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

“Kayla? What’s going on?” As he spoke, Mitchell stepped outside, closing the door behind him. “It’s like. So early.” Kayla shrugged.

“Depends,” she said, shrugging, “do you want the full version or the cliffnotes version?” Mitchell stared at Kayla for a moment. Then he started groaning.

“It is wAY TOO EARLY FOR THIS.” He then plopped down so that he was sitting with his back against the cabin door. “Alright, then. Sit down and give me the full version.” Kayla sat down across from him, and Nico remained standing above them awkwardly. Mitchell looked up at the other boy and raised his eyebrows. “You gonna sit down or what, pretty boy?” Mitchell asked, tone dry as a desert. Nico started, stuttered a little bit, turned bright red, and then finally sat down. Kayla was having a blast.

“Okay, so here’s the thing,” Kayla started. She talked for maybe fifteen minutes, telling Mitchell about her dream, their enemy, and their plan to seek aid from the Justice League. “… but we need a third person, and considering how little a filter I have, and his… everything” -Kayla waved a hand at Nico and was met with a surly glare- “we need someone with a bit more… tact. What d’you say?”

Mitchell had woken up a bit during Kayla’s explanation and looked between the two powerful demigods in front of him.

“Are you sure you want me?” He asked hesitantly, eyes downcast. “I mean, there are tons of other demigods who are better at questing stuff than I am… why not take Annabeth or something?”

“Mitchell.” Kayla shook her head and put a hand on his knee. “I trust you. I need _you_ for this, I know it. So how about it?” A smile spread across Mitchell’s face and he nodded quickly. “There we go!” Kayla jumped up. “We leave at dawn. I think you have about an hour or two to get a bit more sleep, but make sure you’re at the top of the hill by then, okay? I’m gonna go pack.”

Kayla walked away, leaving Mitchell and Nico slightly baffled behind her.

* * *

 

**Long Island**

**July 10, 2012**

**4:15 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood**

When Kayla walked in, Percy was sitting on his bunk, staring at his hands. Kayla carefully closed the door, wincing as it clicked closed, her previous bravado fading. She suddenly felt as if everything was too loud for this moment. Kayla walked to Percy’s side and sat down gingerly next to him. They sat there for a time, each waiting for the other to speak first.

“We haven’t really talked much since I brought you to camp,” Percy finally said. Kayla opened her mouth to protest, eyebrows furrowing, but Percy continued before she could. “Before you say anything about us talking every day, I mean about the important stuff. I haven’t asked how you’ve been adjusting, I haven’t told you anything about my previous quests, I don’t know what you said to your mom when Chiron let you call her, hell, I don’t even really know _why_ you were on probation! I’ve…” Percy trailed off with a sigh and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’ve been a pretty bad brother.”

“What?” Kayla stared at Percy incredulously. “That’s not true! None of those things make you a bad brother. It’s not like I’ve been volunteering any information myse-”

“That’s not the point Kayla.” Kayla flinched at the sudden forcefulness of Percy’s voice. “And there’s that too.” He waved a hand in Kayla’s direction. “The whole flinching when guys yell, the bruises, and yeah, these aren’t recent and I noticed it before, but I never thought to say anything because I was too wrapped up in my own problems to actually put together what those things usually end up meaning.” Kayla sat up straighter and looked away, clenching her jaw. Percy opened his mouth to say something else and closed it almost immediately. “Kayla,” he said, lowering his voice to a whisper as if talking to a spooked animal. “Hey, look at me.” Kayla angled her head slightly towards him, but wouldn’t make eye contact. “That was a bit out of line wasn’t it? You’re not ready to talk about that, are you?” Kayla stayed silent, flicked her eyes up so they met Percy’s for just a moment before looking away again. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Percy sighed again and scrubbed a hand over his face before continuing. “Look you don’t have to talk, okay? But can I talk _at_ you for a bit? I feel like we kind of need it. Nod for yes, shake your head for no?” Kayla stayed completely still for a good minute before jerkily nodding. “Okay. Thank you.”

“So I’ve actually been kind of conflicted about finding out about you. I’m not mad at you! I’m not. It’s just… until recently our dad and our uncles had this pact not to have children, swore on the Styx and everything. All because of this prophecy from like, right after World War II that said that a child of the big three would either save or destroy Olympus on their sixteenth birthday. That could’ve been me, Thalia, Nico, or… Anyway, Nico was actually born before the pact, in 1932, and ended up in this casino where you never age when he was ten. Eventually he got out but it had been seventy years so he was still, physically, ten. Thalia is actually older than me, but she was a tree for a bit- long story- and then joined the Hunters right before she turned sixteen. Which left me.” Percy stopped for a minute and stared at his hands. “There was a war last year. Or, well, the final battle of the war. Kronos came back to life using another demigod, Luke, as a host. He had also bathed in the Styx. There were demigods on both sides. A lot of people died. Annabeth almost… anyway. We ended up winning thanks to Luke. He sacrificed himself to stop Kronos. After the battle ended, Zeus offered me immortality. I turned it down, and instead asked that they nullify their pact, that all demigods would have to be claimed by the time they were thirteen, and that minor gods also get cabins for their children to stay in, instead of crowding the Hermes cabin. I talked to dad after that and he made a joke about giving me siblings, which until May I had actually thought was a joke. But then that Hellhound attacked, and I thought ‘of course Kayla’s a demigod, ADHD, dyslexia, a penchant for stealing, she’s definitely a Hermes kid, looks like we really are cousins, I can’t believe I didn’t see the signs.’ And then dad claimed you. I didn’t really know what to think. I’ll admit I was a bit upset that dad didn’t give me any warning, that he hadn’t found some way to get you to camp earlier. A lot of demigods-” Percy stopped, looked at Kayla, took a deep breath, and started again. “A lot of demigods don’t make it to camp. They die on the way, or as kids, because some monster could smell them and wanted a snack. That’s part of why I would get kicked out of schools. Monster attacks. It’s worse for us because we’re naturally a lot stronger than most other demigods. The stronger you are, the more monsters that want to kill you. So I just- I can’t _believe_ that dad would leave you in that kind of danger for so long.” Percy looked back down at his hands and took another deep breath. “That _I_ left you in that kind of danger for so long.”

“What? Percy-” Kayla started, but Percy interrupted again.

“Quit saying it’s not my fault.” Percy said. “I should’ve known you were a demigod. It’s so _obvious_ looking back, and you were completely defenseless.” Kayla gave Percy a Look. “Alright, fine, defenseless against _monsters._ I still can’t believe you beat me in hand-to-hand,” He amended begrudgingly.

“Three times!” Kayla said, trying to break the tension that had settled over the room. It worked, to a degree. Percy chuckled slightly and smiled kindly at Kayla.

“Sorry I’ve been going on and on for so long. But I just- you’re about to go on a quest and you’re nowhere near ready, and maybe if we had more time-”

“But we don’t.” Kayla said.

“But we don’t.” Percy repeated, smiling wryly. “Looks like I’ll just have to make sure you’re prepared. Mind if I help you pack?”

“Not at all.”

* * *

 

“Alright.” Percy said, watching Kayla zip up her duffle. “Looks like you’re all set.”

“I mean, except for those.” Kayla frowned and gestured to her daggers, propped up against the wall in their scabbards. “How am I gonna be able to take those anywhere? You said it yourself; the Mist only goes so far.” Almost as soon as she had finished talking a loud crack echoed through the cabin followed by a thump. Kayla whirled around to find two scabbards and a note had landed on her bed. Percy walked up next to her and picked up the note.

“‘Try using these instead,’” Percy read, “signed, ‘an admirer of your work’ with a caduceus underneath it. Ha! Looks like Hermes is a fan of yours!”

“Whelp. Okay then.” Kayla picked up the scabbards and studied them closely. “Huh, they don’t look any different.”

“You should still try them out. Hermes’s gifts are usually useful,” Percy suggested. Kayla’s mind caught on the ‘usually’ in his sentence.

“Why is that something you know.”

“Don’t question it, just try those things out.”

Kayla rolled her eyes but grabbed her daggers from their spot anyway, and transferred them into the other scabbards. One second her daggers were in her hand, and the next Kayla was scrambling to catch two flash drives on a keychain. Once they were back in her hand, she stared at them for a good minute before popping the caps off of the drives. In an instant, she had her daggers back in her hand, the two scabbards fell to the floor in front of her.

“Holyfuckingshitthat’ssocool.” She whispered.

“Language,” Percy said half-heartedly, “but looks like that solves your problem.” Percy looked out the window and saw the first colors of sunrise coming up over the hill.

“Looks like it’s almost time to go,” Kayla said, sheathing her daggers once again and putting the flash drives in her pocket.

“Yeah, looks like.” Percy looked at Kayla, worry taking over his features for just a moment before he covered it with a fond smile. “Come on, then. I’ll walk you over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also fyi in my head, mitchell has been at camp since before he started transitioning and is out to p much everyone. kayla doesnt out him, nico is just out of the loop


	9. the quest... almost begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof this took a bit longer than i wanted it to
> 
>  
> 
> tw for mentions of abuse, kayla talks to her mom and its not that explicit but if that triggers you, the first and last word of the section are bolded

**Long Island**

**July 10, 2012**

**6:00 AM**

**Camp Half-Blood; Half-Blood Hill**

Nico was already standing with Chiron when Kayla and Percy approached. The dark circles under his eyes seemed more pronounced, leaving Kayla to wonder if he _ever_ slept or if he just spent his nights lurking around and eavesdropping. They didn’t speak while they waited for Mitchell, but Percy was more than willing to fill the silence by ~~nagging~~ checking that Kayla really did have everything, even though he had helped her pack and had gone through his mental checklist five times on the way to the Hill. By the time Mitchell reached the top of the hill 10 minutes later, Percy was on his 9th run of the checklist, and Kayla had just started answering ‘no’ to everything, to which Percy would correct her. Point, missed.

“Oh, thank gods,” Kayla said, wrapping her arms around Mitchell in a bear hug, “finally; I’m saved from Percy and his checklist.”

“I am just trying to make sure you’re prepared,” Percy argued. “It’s my baby sister’s first quest, I’m allowed to be slightly freaking out.”

“If this is slightly,” Kayla pulled away from Mitchell, “I would hate to see you at full freak-out mode.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.” Percy waved a hand dismissively. “My full freak-out mode is reserved for all-out battles and Great Prophecies, and neither of those are probably gonna happen for a few decades.” Two seconds of silence passed, and Percy crossed over to the pine tree and knocked three times on one of its branches. “Not taking any chances.” Kayla snorted, Mitchell and Chiron chuckling along with her. Nico stayed awkward and silent, like a broken NPC until he got impatient.

“We should get going now that we’re finally all here,” Nico said, ruining everyone’s fun like the fun-ruiner he is. He made sure to look pointedly at Mitchell. “We don’t have all day.” Kayla rolled her eyes, but picked up her duffle and slung it over her shoulder nonetheless. 

“Alright grumpy-pants. Geez, you’d think you were up all night lurking around waiting for someone to eavesdrop on or something.” Kayla ignored Nico’s glare and let Percy pull her into a hug, her head against his chest. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head and then rested his chin there.

“Please be careful,’’ he whispered. Kayla nodded against his chest and he pressed another kiss to her head and pulled away. Chiron came up to her next, as Percy wished Mitchell good luck.

“Here you are,” Chiron handed her a small sack. Kayla looked inside to see a good amount of drachma and a small bundle of crisp twenties. “Financial supplies can be just as important as your weapon. Remember that.” Kayla nodded. To her right she saw Percy stick a hand out towards Nico, who went to shake it, but was pulled into a hug instead. Nico stood there, stiff and awkward, and Kayla was _loving it_. She laughed and quickly covered it up with a cough at the glare he sent her. Percy pulled back and looked Nico in the eye.

“Keep her safe. Do better than I did.” Percy’s voice was gravely serious. Nico’s eyes widened for a second and then became determined as he nodded. Kayla looked at Mitchell for an explanation, only for him to shrug in response. Percy hugged Nico again, and this time Nico’s arms lifted hesitantly to his back. Suddenly Percy was pulling away again. “Okay,” Percy took a deep breath and scrubbed a hand down his face. “Okay, okay. I’m gonna go before I waterworks, cause then Kayla’s gonna waterworks and she’s an ugly crier.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t even, it’s true.” And having successfully Exposed Kayla, Percy started making his way down the hill. Half-way down he looked back, but Kayla missed it. Instead she turned back to Nico.

“Alright,” She said. “If we’re doing this, we’re gonna have to make a pit stop before we go to D.C.”

* * *

 

**Manhattan**

**July 10, 2012**

**6:30 AM**

Kayla was getting real tired of Nico’s bitching. Yeah, yeah he’s her cousin, she should be nicer, but holy _shit_ he complained a lot. Ever since they had stepped out of the shadows a few blocks away from Kayla’s apartment, all he’d done was question why they weren’t immediately going to D.C., was it really safe to be walking around a “sketchy” area like this, why does it smell like urine? The only thing he didn’t say was “I should be leading this quest, not you” but it was implied. Heavily.

“Nico, I told you, it’s just a quick pit stop so I can check in with a few people and grab stuff from home,” Kayla said, growing more exasperated by the minute. “Besides, the Hall of Justice won’t be open for a few hours so it’s fine.”

“We need to _plan_ ,” Nico retorted. “Do you know how we’re going to actually talk to superheroes? Or how we’re going to convince them to help us?”

“Willing to bet if I say, ‘Lex Luthor stole something that belongs to my dad and is going to use it for Bad Guy stuff,’ they’ll agree.” Kayla suddenly turned and pushed open the door to her building.

“And if they say no?” Kayla rolled her eyes and approached the front desk.

“Then we’ll figure it out.” Nico started to argue, but she cut him off by speaking to the man in front of her. “Yo, Ham, good to see ya man. Can I use the phone?” He blinked at her, once, twice.

“Kayla? Where’ve you been, girl? I haven’t seen that mug a’ yours around lately.” Abraham Jones, or Ham to anyone who knew him, was a tall black man who was the epitome of the Gentle Giant trope. He ran the front desk from 8PM to 8AM and then handed off to his older, white, gross counterpart, Bernard, for the dayshift. Kayla didn’t like Bernard.

“New summer camp my mom thinks will keep me out of trouble,” Kayla half-lied, “the councilors are taking us on a ‘big tour of the city,’ but the only way I would’ve been able to see my mom was if I went early in the morning. They didn’t want me going alone so I had to bring some friends. Can I use the phone, though?” After spinning her story she quickly turned it back around on him, giving Ham no time to question her statement. As much as she liked him, she didn’t have time for questions.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” He picked up the old phone on the desk and turned it around for her.

“Thanks, Ham.” Kayla picked up the receiver and dialed quickly.

The phone rang four times before being picked up with a loud, irate “What.”

“Jack. Basement. Five minutes,” Kayla said, and hung up. She pushed the phone back towards Ham. “Thanks. You know if Carson’s gone yet?” Ham blinked at her again, then shook his head.

“I don’t think he came back last night, I haven’t seen him. Haven’t seen your mom in a couple days either. When you see her, tell her I said hi, okay?” Ham was always so earnest. Kayla nodded.

“Sure thing Ham,” She turned around and waved as she walked towards the basement entrance, Nico and Mitchell stunned, but following.

“What was that about, Kayla?” Mitchell asked as the trio made their way down the stairs.

“He’s one of the people we’re meeting with.” Kayla made her way over to Jack’s makeshift desk. Then she started emptying her pockets.

“Are those- wallets?” Mitchell asked. He picked one up and opened it to a familiar face. “This guy… you bumped into him on the way here.”

“Yup,” Kayla said, indifferent to the mildly horrified looks from her… quest-mates? “Armani suit, designer shoes, real leather briefcase. Saw him yelling at a Dominican hot-dog vendor about Mexicans not learning English once. People like that don’t deserve what they’ve got.” She plucked the wallet out of Mitchell’s hands and pulled out the cash. “Fifteen hundred dollars cash in his wallet. Mostly hundreds.” She scoffed. “Carrying that much cash on you is so fucking stupid.” She did the same with the other three wallets she had plucked along the way and slipped the cash into her pocket.

“You’re a thief.” Kayla turned towards Nico, two feet away and angry. “We’re losing time on a quest because you- what? Had to get your fix in before we went to D.C.?”

“D.C. is expensive, jackass,” Kayla retorted, “We have to eat. We need a hotel room, unless you wanna sleep on park benches. We’re probably gonna need to take a tour of the Hall of Justice, and I had to do a project on that in school, it ain’t cheap. Three-hundred bucks and a handful of drachma aren’t going to be much use if this takes more than a day.”

“That doesn’t mean we have to steal!” Nico said, voice rising. Kayla rolled her eyes. “If Percy-“

“Percy.” Kayla interrupted, suddenly furious. “Isn’t. Here. I am, and I am leading this quest. _You_ ,” she spat, “volunteered for this.” The two of them glared at each other, both seething.

“Okay,” Mitchell said. “What’s done is done. We can’t go back.” He slowly stepped in between the two. “But maybe we shouldn’t fight right now? You know, quest to focus on and all?” Kayla took a deep breath, and opened her mouth to agree, but-

“The kid’s right.” Nico spun around and in a second had his sword in his hands. Jack somehow looked unfazed by the sword at his neck.

“Nico! Stop!” Kayla moved forward and pushed the blade to the side. “He’s who we’re here for.” Then to Jack. “Hey, got some stuff for you.”

“I figured,” Jack said, unenthusiastic. “Did you really have to come so early? I was asleep.”

“Sorry man.” Kayla shrugged, not sorry. “Kind of on a time crunch.”

“Yeah, quests. Nasty business. What god is pissed of now?” Jack made his way to his desk and started inspecting the wallets.

“My- wait,” Kayla started to answer, but then registered what he said. “What did- you?”

“Son of Hermes,” Jack said, as if he had just said something normal, like, ‘did you catch the game last night?’ “Now I’m a fence, and I keep an eye out for demigods. Sometimes dad’ll point one out that he wants me to keep a closer eye on, usually a sibling. He did that with you. Thought you could’ve been one of my siblings, but you were too rough at the start. Had _some_ talent for it, but not to the degree Hermes kids usually do.” He finally turned around to face Kayla again. “So? What’s going down?” Kayla shook herself out of her shock.

“My dad,” She said. “His trident was stolen by a super villain. We’re going to see if the Justice League can help us get it back.” Jack let out a long whistle.

“Daughter of Poseidon, huh? Damn,” He said, “surprised you made it as long as you did before making it to camp. Well,” Jack clapped his hands together. “ Let’s get down to business.” Kayla smirked and opened her mouth to speak. “Don’t fucking say ‘to defeat the huns.’” Kayla sighed.

“How much are you offering?” She asked instead.

Jack looked back down at the wallets, considering. “Six hundred,” He said.

“Six hundred?” Kayla scoffed. “One of those is a Dunhill, it _alone_ is worth eight hundred.”

“It’s also used now,” Jack retorted. “I’ll give you six-fifty.”

“Seven seventy-five.”

“Seven.”

“Seven-fifty.”

“Seven twenty-five, final offer.”

Kayla considered for a moment. She nodded, “Deal.”

The two shook hands and Jack crossed over to one of his filing cabinets. He came back with an envelope. “There you go. Brat.”

Kayla took it from him. “Pleasure doing business with you. Old man.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack waved her away. “Go on and get out of here. I have it on good authority that Carson isn’t going to be home for a couple hours, so you should go see your mom, kid.”

“Thanks Jack, I appreciate it.” Kayla smiled, and started towards the door, waving at her companions to follow her.

* * *

 

Kayla unlocked her door and slowly opened it. Despite Jack saying that Carson wasn’t there, she was still worried about running into him. She poked her head in and when she didn’t hear loud, horrible snoring breathed a sigh of relief. She stepped inside and held the door open as she motioned for Mitchell and Nico to do the same. They had both been pretty quiet since what had happened in the basement.

“Come on. We’re gonna head to my room first,” She said leading them further into the apartment. They stepped into her room and she closed the door quietly behind them. “I think my mom’s still asleep, but I need to check on her before we head to D.C.” Kayla opened a drawer of her old dresser and started digging through it. She pulled out a blue tee that had always been big on her and a Ramones shirt that had been Aidan’s… He had given it to her after some drunk guy had grabbed her on the subway and ruined the one she was wearing. She sighed, and shook away the memory. Kayla turned and threw the blue one to Mitchell and the Ramones t-shirt to Nico. “We’ll blend in more if we’re not all wearing bright orange shirts,” She said, turning and pulling out a soft purple shirt for herself.

“I’m not wearing orange,” Nico said flatly.

“Yeah, I know. I’m just trying to improve your style,” Kayla stayed facing away from the boys and slipped her jacket off of her shoulders before pulling her shirt over her head. She quickly pulled the other shirt on. “Hurry up and change so I can turn around,” She said, pulling her jacket back on and zipping it up halfway. Kayla waited until the sounds of shifting fabric stopped and then turned around. “Okay, you two stay here,” she pointed to her bed. “You can sit down, I don’t care, but I’m gonna check in with my mom and then it’s off to D.C., okay?”

She left the room, not waiting for an answer and made her way to her mother’s bedroom. She stopped at the door, knocked softly three times, and pushed it open. She stuck her head in to see her mother still asleep and facing away from her. Kayla stepped into the room, footsteps light, and closed the door gingerly. She slowly lowered herself so that she was sitting at her mother’s side, and shook her shoulder.

“Mama? Hey, wake up,” She whispered. “Mom.”

“Huh- what?” Cindy turned over sleepily, but shot up once she saw Kayla. “Kayla? Honey, what are you doing here? I thought you were at camp!”

**“I** was, we were in the city for some kind of trip,” She lied. “I got permission to see you.” Kayla studied her mother’s face, taking note of the fresh black eye her mother had. “Oh, mama what happened?” Kayla knew what had happened. She hated that she couldn’t have been there to stop it.

“Oh, baby, don’t worry about me,” Cindy said, taking one of Kayla’s hands in hers. “Carson was in one of his moods, and I was… being a bit pushy, that’s all. I’m fine.”

“It’s not fine, mom.” Kayla said; even though she knew how this conversation was gonna go. “He shouldn’t hit you, no matter what mood he’s in.”

“Baby,” Cindy shook her head, “I’m telling you it’s okay. He’s getting better.”

“Mom-“

“Makayla Elizabeth.” Kayla’s mouth snapped closed and she looks away. “Uh-uh, look at me.” Cindy took her daughter’s chin in her hand and made Kayla face her. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.” Kayla’s jaw tightened, but she forced herself to nod. Cindy let go and put a hand on her cheek. **“I’m** glad I got to see you, though. But you should go rejoin your group, right?” Kayla nodded again.

“Yeah, I should.” She wrapped her mother up in a hug and held on tight. A minute passed and Kayla pulled away and stood. “You should go back to sleep,” she said. “It’s still pretty early. I’ll see you soon mama.”

Thirty seconds later she was opening the door to her room again. Mitchell and Nico looked up from their places on her bed and standing up against the wall next to her window respectively.

“Alright boys,” Kayla said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a note that updates might slow down a good bit bc this was being cross-posted from ffn and like, i was rewriting too but we're getting to all new content... yay!


	10. stuff???? actually???? happens?????

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhhh tw for a short little thing about coming out at the beginning and for mentioned police brutality closer to the end (mitchell asks what happened to a friend of kayla's)
> 
> also pay no mind to the weird timeline asdhbflka

**Washington D.C.**

**July 10, 2012**

**7:00 AM**

The Hall of Justice was bigger than it looked in the pictures. Kayla, despite being short (so very, very short), didn’t often feel _small_. But the sheer size of the Hall was… she felt like a dwarf.

“We have to find a place to stash our bags.” She said, turning to her companions. Her eyes landed on Nico, who was looking paler than usual. “Hey, cuz, you good? You’re starting to look like a ghost,” she joked, chuckling to herself, causing both boys to look at her unimpressed, though the effect from Nico was diminished slightly by the fact that he looked like he was about to pass out. “Okay, c’mon, let’s get you to a bench so you can nap, oh Lord of Darkness.”

With that, they made their way down the street, and as soon as Nico was horizontal, he was out like a light. Kayla and Mitchell settled down in front of it and sat there in slightly awkward silence for a while.

“So that was interesting,” Mitchell said. He didn’t specify what, but Kayla knew what he meant.

“Look, Mitch,” She said, nervously picking at her nails. “I don’t expect you to understand. But my mom doesn’t work and isn’t willing to move out of Manhattan. If it were up to my step-father, we’d be homeless with a beer-bottle fort for shelter. Maybe it’s wrong, or illegal, but it’s necessary. We need food, we need to make rent. I don’t actually have much of a choice.” Kayla watched her friend process.

“I… can’t say I understand. But I get it. If my dad hadn’t taken my coming out as well as he did…” He trailed off, but Kayla knew. Coming out was one of the scariest experiences ever. She had only ever told Jack and Eric that she was bi. Her mom was always so… proper. Kayla didn’t know _how_ she would react. Carson would kill her. She studied Mitchell’s face, wondering what would happen if she told him right now. Instead, she scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. One of his arms came up to wrap her in a one-sided hug and he rested his head against hers.

They stayed like that until Nico woke up.

* * *

“You two look cozy,” Nico said groggily, rubbing his eyes. Kayla snorted and stood up, pulling Mitchell up with her.

“You’re one to talk,” She sassed. “Gotta say, I like you a lot more when you’re asleep. At least then you aren’t acting like the eighty year-old you are.” She gasped. “Wait. Needs a nap after anything strenuous? Kind of a crotchety dick? Di immortales, you are acting your age.” Nico bristled, but before he could take the bait, Mitchell stepped in. Literally. He stood in between Nico and Kayla.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” he said, giving Kayla a flat look while she tried (and failed) to look innocent. He took out his phone and checked the time. “Thanks to Nico’s nap we’re down to about 20 minutes until the Hall of Justice opens.” Kayla nodded and looked around, considering.

“There’s a McDonalds down the street,” She said, pointing. “Let’s head over there and grab some breakfast. That way we can kill some time before we go in.”

“You aren’t worried we’ll miss the opening?” Nico asked.

“Nah,” Kayla said. “It would look suspicious if we were the first ones in, especially if we have to spend a lot of time there. And we need to find a place to stash our bags.” Nico nodded, for once agreeing with her. Kayla looked toward the Hall of Justice again and her eyes caught on a few fliers that had fallen to the ground, one of them in a puddle. With a small smirk, Kayla quickly checked to see if anyone was looking and felt a tug in her gut as water from the puddle leveraged the flier into the air and towards them to land at their feet. She picked it up, and chuckled as she read it. Nico and Mitchell exchanged a confused look. She turned to them with a lopsided grin. “Looks like it’s our lucky day, boys.” She held up the flier, proudly stating a group of heroes would be parading through the hall that afternoon. “Let’s go get some breakfast”

* * *

**Washington D.C.**

**July 10, 2012**

**12:00 PM**

“We have been in line. For three hours.” Kayla had pulled her hair up into a tight bun and her jacket was tied around her waist and she was sweating. Mitchell wasn’t much better off, but Kayla was pissed that Nico had only taken off the bomber jacket and looked completely the same. Fucking rude.

“You know earlier, when I said that we should get in line not long after it opened and you said no? That would’ve prevented this.” Nico was way too smug for this heat. Kayla flipped him off.

“Asshole.”

“Guys, please don’t,” Mitchell said. “It’s hot, we’re almost to the front of the line, my binder is chafing really badly, and I don’t have the energy to stop you two from killing each other. I don’t want you guys to get arrested.”

“Getting arrested isn’t that bad. Also, bold of you to assume that I would get caught if I killed Nico.” Kayla didn’t comment even further as Nico and Mitchell stared at her, stunned.

“You know what,” Mitchell said, “It’s too hot to try and unpack that right now.” The trio stayed in miserable silence until finally, finally reaching the front of the line. Kayla quickly paid for their tickets, and since they had stashed their bags in the bushes behind the McDonald’s dumpster, were given a quick once over with a handheld metal detector and ushered through to the building.

“Oh, thank gods. I thought I was gonna melt.” Kayla sighed with relief as the air conditioning washed over her.

“I thought that was rain, not heat,” Nico quipped, voice dry as a desert.

Kayla gasped, nearly falling over in her fake surprise. “Was that a joke? With a Wizard of Oz reference to boot? Am I hallucinating? Did I pass out from the heat and this is some kind of fever dream?”

Nico raised an imperious eyebrow, returning to his usual deadpan self. “Are you done?”

“One more: did I somehow rabbit hole into an alternate universe where you’re actually fun?” Kayla smirked, proud. “Alright, that’s it. Time for serious quest stuff.”

“Do you have a plan or are we just winging it?” Mitchell lowered his voice.

“Tours, I think.” Kayla scanned the, admittedly impressive, room. “Get a look around, count cameras, look for possible entrances and exits, hiding spots, etcetera. We have about three hours until the heroes get here, so let’s get started.”

* * *

 

Leading their trio back to the front entrance, Kayla sighed heavily. “Whelp, I now know a lot about the formation of the League, and yet somehow nothing at all.”

“What do you mean?” Mitchell’s head tilted slightly, like an inquisitive puppy.

“I mean that these tours told us a lot, but none of it substantial. It’s like being at a museum, but all that’s in the exhibit is… I don’t know, a- a pair of shoes. Like, we know they were worn, but we don’t know exactly when, or for how long, or…” Kayla stopped, and stared up at the grand statues of heroes around them. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.“Or maybe they don’t actually use them. Maybe this is a fancy pair of uncomfortable shoes that are expected, but they have some broken-in sneakers in the back of their closet…”

“Uh… Kayla?” Kayla came back down to earth and looked back to Mitchell. “As much as I want to say I know what you’re talking about, I’m a little lost with the shoe metaphor.”

“Look around, guys. The tours, the statues, the- the fucking displays, doesn’t it seem a little…” Kayla stopped, trying to find the words. “Obvious? Like a big target. Batman is the world’s greatest detective, and he’s a founding member of the League. Why would he of all people have such an obvious home base?”

Nico stood up straighter. “You think this is a front?”

“Well, yeah,” She said. “The more I think about it the more it makes sense. Why would they have such a public base that any C-rate villain could attack? Especially one that so many civilians visit on the daily?”

“That’s a good point, but what about their little parades? You know, the ones where heroes come in here and do hero stuff?” Mitchell pointed out. “We can’t ignore that.”

As if on cue, a commotion started outside. Kayla startled, looking towards the door. “What the- wait, what time is it?” She grabbed Nico’s wrist to check his watch. “Shit, it’s time, they’re here. Let’s go.” Kayla walked quickly despite her short stature, trying to push through the crowd forming. The doors opened and Batman, Superman, Aquaman, and the Flash walked in. The volume inside rose as they walked further into the building. Kayla wanted to break through the crowd and plead for help right then and there, but there were too many people, there was no way she would be able to do it. Kayla settled for pushing her way through the crowd, following the heroes further into the building, leaving Nico and Mitchell behind her. She managed to get to the front just as a dark section of wall separated, revealing a room behind it before it closed behind them. A grin covered her face as she moved back through the crowd.

When she escaped, she looked around spotting Nico and Mitchell looking around for her. She almost went to them, but spotted a door on her other side with an ‘Employees Only’ sign. With one last look towards her partners, Kayla straightened her spine and walked over to the door, trying to look like she belonged there. After making sure she wasn’t being watched, Kayla opened the door and slipped inside, finding the room blessedly empty. It looked to be some kind of break room with a few tables, a fridge, and counters along one wall with two coffee makers on them. Kayla spotted the door to the manager’s office on the other side of the room and crept towards it. It was closed, and Kayla tried the doorknob, sending a quick prayer to any god listening at that moment.

Locked.

“Shit,” Kayla hissed under her breath. “Well, at least that means that no one’s in there.” Kayla pulled a bobby pin out from just below her bun and pushed the end into the lock, looking over her shoulder for just a second to make sure no one was walking in. She wiggled the bobby pin around, listening carefully. She subconsciously started chewing on her bottom lip, full concentration on getting that telltale click to sound from the lock. After what felt like forever, but was probably only around forty seconds or so, Kayla pumped her fist in the air as she pushed the door open. Once in the office, she saw a binder on top of the desk with “SCHEDULES” in large bold print on the front. She huffed a laugh at the convenience and opened it up, looking for the janitorial staff, flicking her eyes over the pages as quickly as possible. Finally, she found what she was looking for and committed it to memory before closing the binder again. A cursory glance around the break room confirmed that no one had come in while she was in the office and she left as fast as she could while still appearing casual.

Once she was out she made a beeline for Nico and Mitchell, who were talking to… one of the guards. “Shit!” Kayla hissed again, picking up the pace. “Guys!” Kayla waved as she almost jogged to them. “What’s up? Who’s this?” She asked, pretending to just now notice the security guard.

“Kayla!” Mitchell exclaimed. "We couldn’t find you after you went into that crowd, we got worried.”

“Dude, I was just in the bathroom, don’t sweat it,” She said, waving a hand flippantly. “But I am _starved_ what do you say we go get some food and head back to the hotel?" Without giving them any time to argue, Kayla started towards the door.

* * *

 

**Washington D.C.**

**July 10, 2012**

**5:00 PM**

Kayla finished telling them what she had learned and relaxed back into her chair.

“So how are we going to get into that room?” Nico asked. The trio was in a diner a few blocks away, burgers and fries in front of them and their retrieved bags on the floor under the table.

“Well,” Kayla started, dipping a fry in ketchup. “When I snuck away, I managed to get a look at the janitor schedule. The latest anyone is scheduled is nine. We need to be outside the building when they leave. I’ll get the keys, and there’s our entrance.” She popped the fry into her mouth and smiled smugly.

“What about cameras?” Mitchell asked, taking a bite of his burger. “I counted eight just in the entryway. I doubt there’s a blind spot in the entire building.”

“Why do anything?” Kayla shrugged. “For all we know, we could get in there and no one from the league would actually be there. If we’re caught on camera, trip a few alarms, we get their attention.”

“The wrong kind of attention,” Nico said, finally starting to eat. “They’ll just think we’re criminals. How will we get them to believe us, much less help us?”

“There’s no way to be for sure on this.” Kayla sounded very serious, but the effect was lost when she shoved a handful of fries in her mouth. “We have no idea what kind of security they have, besides the cameras, and no way to disable them anyway. We just have to get in there. Besides,” Kayla took a long drink from her coke. “They have mind readers and shit. I’m sure if they think we’re lying, one of them can look in our heads and see that we’re telling the truth.”

“Really.” Mitchell said, surprising Kayla. “You’ve barely told us anything about you and you’ll let Martian Manhunter go through your brain?” Kayla looked in between the two boys at the table and sighed.

“Fine. Whatever.” She said, grabbing another handful of fries. “Twenty questions. I get three vetoes. What do you want to know?”

“Uhh.” Mitchell looked at her blankly. “I don’t know. I didn’t think I’d get this far.” Kayla snorted. “Oh! Actually, um, one time, you mentioned that you’re going to be in high school next year, but you’re thirteen and your birthday is in December, so how does that work?”

Kayla raised an eyebrow. “Wow people don’t usually actually catch on to that. Um,” Kayla stopped for a second, looking for the words. “When I was, like, four, I was apparently a ‘gifted’ child. So my mom did a ton of paperwork that I don’t know anything about now so I could start kindergarten early.” She shrugged. “It helped that it meant she didn’t have to spend as much on a babysitter. Nineteen questions left.”

“Favorite color?”

“Wow, that’s deep. Purple. Eighteen.”

“If you could be any animal, what would you be?”

“Oh, that’s a hard one. Maybe a shark. Deadly and cool. Seventeen.”

“Who’s Carson?” Nico’s question caught the other two off guard. Kayla pursed her lips.

“My step-dad,” She said. She took a bite of her burger. “Sixteen.”

“What’s your full name?” Mitchell asked.

“Ugh.” Kayla rolled her eyes. “Makayla Elizabeth Evans. Fifteen.”

“Who’s your favorite superhero?”

“Wonder Woman, no contest. Fourteen.”

“Why did you have to make sure your step-dad wasn’t home before you saw your mom?” Kayla’s eyes darted back to Nico. She stared for a moment, not saying anything.

“Veto. Thirteen.”

Mitchell looked between the two awkwardly. “Uh, so,” Mitchell said, regaining Kayla’s attention. “Did you really kill a Hellhound before coming to camp?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I went on a walk with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia and we were attacked. Not the best experience. Twelve.”

“Wait, you knew Percy before you came to camp? How is that?” Mitchell said, surprised.

“Our moms were friends in high school,” She shrugged. “They grew apart at some point, but then when I was six, we went to the candy shop Aunt Sally was working at, and they reconnected. Me and Percy have been pretty close ever since. It was… really something to find out we were actually siblings. Eleven.”

“Wow, that’s crazy,” Mitchell said. “Is your mom from New York, then?”

“No, actually. My mom’s from the U.K.,” Kayla said. “But she came over when she was a teenager, and I’ve lived here my whole life, so it’s whatever,” Kayla shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

“Well not everyone at camp is from New York,” He said. “I’m from Gotham City. I’d never even been to New York until I went to Camp for the first time.”

“Dude, you’re from Gotham? Have you met Batman?”

“No, but one time-”

“This isn’t your shirt, is it?” Nico asked, picking at the Ramones tee that she had forced him into earlier. Kayla gritted her teeth in annoyance.

“No, it’s not. Nine.”

“Whose was it?” Nico needled.

Kayla wanted to snap, to be brutal and mean, but she bit her tongue. “Veto. Eight.”

“Why so touchy about the shirt?”

Kayla’s fists tightened at on top of the table. “Because I don’t see how it’s important that you know that. Seven.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Mitchell said, trying to diffuse the tension. It barely worked.

Kayla considered the question and forced herself to relax. “I don’t know. I like drawing, and I’m good at graffiti art. Maybe I’ll go to art school, if I can ever afford it. Six.”

“Graffiti art?” Mitchell asked.

“Yeah,” Kayla laughed to herself. “Sometimes people go to Jack about someone they don’t like, but they don’t want to steal from them or cause any bodily harm, so _I_ go and spray-paint their car, or the side of their house or something,” Kayla shrugged, nonchalant. “It’s not quite ethical, I guess, but it pays the bills. Five questions left.”

“Why are you the one paying your bills? Shouldn’t your mom or step-dad be doing that?” Kayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath, reminding herself that she couldn’t kill her own cousin, especially not in a crowded diner with witnesses galore.

“Veto. Four.”

“What happened to the person who owned this shirt?”

“Ve-“

“You can’t veto. You already used your three.” Kayla and Nico stared each other down, Nico looking too relaxed compared to Kayla’s rigidness.

“He’s dead,” Kayla deadpanned. Mitchell gasped softly. Nico sat up straighter, looking shocked. Kayla let herself feel a little bit satisfied at that. She looked down at the table and started picking at her fries. “Three.”

“What- what happened?” Mitchell asked, hesitant.

“We were… partners, I guess,” Kayla started. “He’d size people up, I’d get in close and grab their wallets, then we’d split the loot. It was a good system, I mean, who was going to suspect the little white girl, right? But,” Kayla broke off and looked out the window. “I got cocky. I bet him my share that I could get this cop’s wallet without him noticing. Tony Morley, badge number 147. I was wrong. He, uh,” Kayla took a deep breath. “He chased us. I was climbing the ladder up to a fire escape when he got to the mouth of the alley. Aidan was still on the ground. I…”  Kayla stopped, blinking rapidly. “I heard him yell, ‘don’t shoot, don’t shoot,’ three gunshots, and a thump… I jumped down and…” Another deep breath. “He was gone. Morley said… something about another… another n-word thug off the street, and then arrested me. He told his superior that Aidan pulled a knife on him, and well…” Kayla cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed there. “It was my word against his. No one wanted to believe a thief.”

“Kayla…” Mitchell breathed.

Nico took a deep breath. “I- I’m sorry.”

Kayla snorted. “Well, that must’ve been very painful to say, you gonna be okay, there?”

“I know what it feels like to lose someone, okay? It sucks, and it hurts, so I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Nico slumped down in his chair, arms crossed.

“Well… thanks, Nico.” Kayla coughed, changing the subject. “So you’ve got two more questions, unless you want to quit the game?”

“Wait, I got one,” Mitchell said, leaning forward. “You inherit five million dollars the same day aliens land on the earth and say they're gonna blow it up in two days. What do you do?”

“One, that is straight from Heathers, but I don’t care because I love that movie,” Kayla stated completely matter-of-fact. “Probably... hmmm… go on a shopping spree. Die while wearing the latest and most expensive fashion trends. One more question, make it worth my while.”

“I have one,” Nico said.

“Di Angelo, it better not be stupid personal or I swear-“

“It’s not! Promise,” Nico considered for a moment before saying, “If animals could talk, which one do you think would be the rudest?”

“… okay, yeah that’s a good one… hmmm…..” Kayla tapped her chin, thinking. “I’m gonna say dolphins. I can already talk to them, and let me tell you, not nice.”

“That is such a cop out!”

“You said all animals!”

“But what about squirrels!”

“Squirrels are adorable!”

“No, they’re not, they’re demons.”

“I gotta agree with Nico here,” Mitchell chimed in. “Squirrels are _mean_.”

“What have you guys been doing to squirrels that they hate you so much?” Kayla’s eyes caught on the clock on the far wall before they could answer. “Shit we gotta go. The Hall will be closing soon and we need to make sure we’re there. Kayla quickly waved over their waitress. “Excuse me, could I get a coffee to go?”

“Sure thing, hon.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Why the coffee?” Nico asked, suspicious.

“All part of my master plan, don’t worry. Hopefully it’ll cool down quickly, though.” Within ten minutes, Kayla had her coffee and the trio was out the door and walking back to the Hall. “Okay, I’ll take care of everything, but Mitch, I’m gonna need to borrow your phone.”

“Why?” Mitchell drug out the word and narrowed his eyes.

“So that I look distracted. It’s an important part of my plan.” Mitchell rolled his eyes good-naturedly and pulled the phone out of his back pocket. “Thank you~.” Kayla sing-songed, taking it from him as they approached the Hall of Justice. “Okay, now all we have to do is wait.” And wait they did, for a good hour or so. Kayla was almost bored out of her mind when _finally_ three janitors exited the building. Kayla kept her eyes on the man who locked the door, and the keys hooked onto his belt. She took a steeling breath. “Showtime. Wish me luck, boys.”

Kayla walked along the sidewalk, pretending to be completely occupied with the phone in her hand. The man with the keys was heading her way, while the other two janitors were heading in the opposite direction. Once she was close enough, Kayla ran into the older man spilling the coffee on his front and apologizing profusely. As she tried to ‘help’ him, Kayla grabbed his keys and slipped them into her jacket pocket, just as he got fed up with her and stormed away. She waited until he turned the corner at the end of the street before taking the keys back out of her pocket and raising them slightly above her head, just enough so that Mitchell and Nico could see them.

Once they reached her, Kayla handed Mitchell back his phone, and they moved to the entrance of the Hall of Justice.

* * *

 

**Washington D.C.**

**July 10, 2012**

**9:10 PM**

**The Hall of Justice**

They had managed to get inside, which was good, but now they had to figure out how to get into that hidden room.

“Well, how’d they get in?” Mitchell asked.

“I don’t know, man, the wall just opened, like an automatic door.”

“Well that’s not helpful.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “I know it’s not, but it’s what we have.”

“Maybe there’s a hidden switch?” Nico suggested. “Or a keypad?”

“Maybe- wait.” Kayla turned around quickly, reaching into her pocket for the little keychain. “I could’ve sworn I heard something.”

“I didn’t hear anything.” Mitchell said. Kayla shushed him and closed her eyes, listening carefully. A wooshing noise, closer this time.

“There it was again.” Kayla backed up, drawing her daggers. “We’re not alone.”

“Are you sure you’re not being-“ and again, this time causing Nico and Mitchell to draw their weapons. “Nope, not being paranoid, I heard that too.”

“Hey, Kayla, you know what I said about maybe attracting the wrong kind of attention?”

“Shut it, di Angelo.”

Then, all at once, the wooshing noise happened again, followed by a red flash and darkness.


	11. in which stuff happens, but also nothing happens, ya feel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn its been a hot minute but hopefully ill be updating more?????? lmao we'll see  
> there should be a chapter sometime next week????? i hope????? anyway whatever
> 
> small tw: martian manhunter goes into kayla's head and sees some bad memories so warning for mention of a character dying and abuse

**Washington D.C.**

**July 10, 2012**

**9:45 PM**

**The Hall of Justice**

Kayla’s first thought was that she had never gotten hit by a truck before, but this? This was probably what that felt like. Her head throbbed as she opened her eyes, squinting against the sudden light. Then her eyes focused in on what was in front of her and she was suddenly very awake, because half a foot away was Batman. And behind him, Robin, Superman, and the Flash. Kayla shifted, realizing that she was on the floor, hogtied to Mitchell and Nico. That was all she had time to think before Batman was stalking closer, stopping right in front of her, so that she had to crane her neck to see him.

“Who. Are. You.” The man growled. Kayla swallowed around the lump forming in her throat.

“Holy shit, you are a lot more intimidating in person.” She said, mentally kicking herself. Batman frowned, glowering at her. “Um, I’m Kayla. Kayla Evans.”

“How did you get in here.” It was a question, but the way he said it was more like he was commanding her to answer.

“I… I may have,” Kayla winced, “nicked the keys off of a custodian? But we’re here for a reason, I promise, it’s…” Kayla trailed off trying and failing to find the words to explain quickly. “Complicated,” She finished lamely.

“Then explain it to us,” Superman (fucking Christ, Superman, how is this life) said, crossing his arms and walking forward. “Why go to such great lengths to get in here?”

“And why shouldn’t I just run you and your friends to the police?” The Flash asked, in the same ‘this isn’t actually a question’ voice that Batman used.

“Well-“ Kayla started, only to be interrupted by Nico, who had apparently woken up.

“I told you breaking in was a bad idea.” He said, unhelpful as ever.

“I don’t exactly recall you having a better idea,” Kayla glared at her cousin, the superheroes’ presence fading into the background.

“Maybe I would’ve come up with one if you had let us actually plan!”

“We didn’t have the _time_!” Kayla exclaimed. “Besides, we’re in _and_ talking to them now, right? The plan worked!”

“I’m sorry,” Nico said haughtily, “Did you forget that we are _tied up on the floor right now_?!”

“It still-“

“ _Di immortales_ , will you two shut up!” Kayla startled at Mitchell’s voice, and her mind returned to the task at hand. “Why do you always start fighting at the worst possible times?” Mitchell addressed the superheroes in front of them (well kind of in front, the hogtie position was a bit awkward). “We need your help. Lex Luthor is planning something big. We’re not exactly sure what, but we know that it’s bad and that we can’t stop him alone.” Robin’s laugh echoed around the room.

“And how are three regular kids going to stop Lex Luthor?” He asked, lips twitching into a smirk. Kayla really wanted to punch him in that moment. He was definitely her age, if not younger, so where did he get off calling them kids. “How do you even know he’s up to something to begin with?”

“He stole something from my father, Poseidon.” Kayla took a moment to appreciate the shock on the heroes faces (well the Flash and Superman. Batman didn’t seem to react at all, and Robin’s face was unreadable, but at least he wasn’t smirking at her anymore). “If Luthor manages to unlock its power, he could become unstoppable,” She continued. “We don’t know where to start, and we don’t know if we can get to… wherever he is with just the three of us. We _need_ your help.” Batman knelt down in front of her and Kayla forced herself not to tense up.

“And why,” he asked, voice low and threatening, “should we believe someone who broke into our headquarters?” Kayla shoved her discomfort down and plastered a smirk on her face.

“Well first of all,” She said, lifting one eyebrow, “this isn’t _really_ you’re headquarters.” Past Batman, she saw the Flash and Superman shift and share a look (which meant she was right, fuck yes!), “And second, you have mind readers, right? Go ahead and use them.” Kayla pushed out her chin, praying that she looked more confident than she felt. Batman simply held her gaze. Or, she assumed he did. The cowl made it pretty hard to tell where he was actually looking. After a tension-filled moment, he wordlessly stood, turned, and walked about four feet away. He must have given some kind of signal, because the moment he stopped the other heroes circled around him in a huddle.

Kayla could hear them talking, but they were too quiet for her to actually understand what they were saying. Now that she wasn’t being watched, Kayla wiggled around in the ropes, testing the strength of the knots. Which were strong enough that she wasn’t going to get them out of there without a knife… Shit. Her daggers. She had them when they were trying to get in, but then they were ambushed and… Kayla quickly surveyed the room, trying her best not to look frantic. They were in a library of some sort, and on the wall in front of the three tied up demigods, past the heroes was a large screen with a lot of sci-fi looking buttons and controls at the base of it. Closer to the heroes, was a coffee table and a collection of chairs. Kayla’s eyes landed on the chair farthest from where she was tied up. In it was her daggers, Nico’s sword, and Mitchell’s bow and quiver. And she had no way to get to them. Shit.

“Hey,” she whispered to her partners. “Either of you have another knife on you?”

“In my back pocket,” Nico said. “But I can’t reach.”

“I don’t think cutting us free is a good idea, Kayla,” Mitchell responded from her other side. “We need them to trust us. If we cut ourselves loose they won’t.”

“Fair point,” Kayla sighed. She turned her attention to where the heroes were still discussing, waiting for them to come to a decision. A few minutes passed, and Batman finally walked over to the gigantic computer, probably contacting someone. The room stayed completely silent. Kayla hated it. “Hey, Superman, I have a question.” He looked at her for a second before shaking his head and turning away. “Okay. I’m gonna ask anyway. Does the ‘S’ stand for Superman? Or something else? ‘Cause I did this project last year where we had to research a hero’s career, and I got assigned you. And you’ve always had that symbol on your chest, even before they were calling you Superman. So did _you_ pick the name and make the costume? Or did you make the costume and it just happens to _look_ like an ‘S’?”

“How articulate.” Nico snorted.

“Hey!” Kayla exclaimed, indignant. “I am plenty articulate, motherfucker.”

“I don’t know,” Mitchell teased. “There was that shoe metaphor earlier.”

Kayla considered that for a moment. “Okay,” She said, “That one got away from me a bit, but I was right about the Hall being a front, right? That’s gotta count for something.”

“I mean, you also got us hogtied by superheroes and are now asking one about his costume.” Nico said.

“It is a perfectly valid question, fuck off.” Kayla turned back to Superman, who was staring at their little trio incredulously. “So which is it?”

Superman shook his head at her, but there was a small smile playing at the corner of his lips, so she considered it a win. “It just looks like an ‘S’.” He said. If Kayla could, she’d be doing a fist pump. “It’s my family’s house crest from my home planet.”

“Okay,” Kayla started, “But can you, like, say that again and let me record it so I can win a bet? My brother won’t believe me.”

“You and Percy bet on that?” Mitchell asked.

“Yeah, like months ago. We never actually thought we’d find out so we bet ridiculous amounts of _drachmae,_ too.” Kayla grinned. “He’s gonna be paying me for years!”

“What’s a _drachmae_?” Robin asked, the Greek word sounding awkward.

“A _drachma_ is a coin, it was Greece’s currency until… 2002? I think?” Kayla explained. “ _Drachmae_ is the plural form. The ones in ancient times that are still used by demigods and the like today are made of gold. If you wanna see one, we have some in… our bags. Shit, our bags are still outside!” Kayla groaned at the realization.

“Where are they, kid?” The Flash asked.

Kayla pushed down her annoyance at being called a kid, and answered, “Uh, the bushes outside, near the building?” She didn’t really see why it matt- and he was gone, in a flash of red. There was another flash and he was back, all three of their bags now sitting on the floor at his feet. “Oh,” Kayla said, a bit dumbstruck. “That’s- uh, thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“Don’t mention it kid,” The Flash shrugged, and really what even is Kayla’s life?

Kayla was going to thank him again anyway, but was interrupted by a section of the wall near the computer that said “League Members Only” (and just how did she not see that before?) opening, revealing Martian Manhunter. He entered and walked forward until he was standing in front of Kayla. He looked at her a moment before turning to face Batman.

“This is her?” At Batman’s nod, Martian Manhunter turned back to her and knelt in front of her. “Letting me into your mind is no small thing,” He said. “You will not be able to hide anything. Do you wish to reconsider?”

Kayla considered it a moment. Did she _really_ want to let a stranger root around in her memories, unable to control what he did and did not see? Not even a little. Did she have to? Yes. She took a steeling breath. “We need your help. This is the easiest way to prove our intentions,” She answered. “Do it.”

Martian Manhunter nodded, and placed his hands on either side of her head. His eyes started to glow a bright green, and Kayla closed her own.

Then things started getting fucky.

At first it was like a replay of the last day (and what a day this had been). Then of the day she found out she was a demigod. The day Aidan died. The time Carson shoved her into the linen closet for three days without food or water. When she found out she was dyslexic. Every major event in her life played over in her head for what felt like hours, but was probably only about a minute before Martian Manhunter pulled out of her head. And when he did, it was like having ice cold water being dumped over her head. She was left gasping for air and shaking, trying to pull herself together. The Martian stood backing away from her.

“I am sorry about your friend,” He said, and Kayla saw red.

“Don’t fucking talk about him,” she hissed, baring her teeth.

He said nothing, simply turned to Batman and nodded. Batman approached them and untied the ropes. In a second, Kayla was on her feet and making her way over to her weapons. She could feel the heroes tense, but she just grabbed her sheathed daggers and quickly strapped them to her back, before tossing Nico’s sword and Mitchell’s bow and arrow to their respective owners. Now that she had her weapons, Kayla felt ten times better. Definitely better than when she was tied up and helpless on the floor. She took a deep breath to try and center herself. Anger wasn’t going to help, not right now. She did what she had to do. She proved they could be trusted. With that thought she steeled herself and turned to Batman.

“So,” she said. “Where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this is??? the first chapter ive had???? without any scene changes???? holy shit
> 
> lmao see you at some point


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